


Love On The Record

by daretozlatan



Category: Women's Soccer RPF
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-19
Updated: 2016-03-05
Packaged: 2018-04-21 11:41:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 28
Words: 36,684
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4827863
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/daretozlatan/pseuds/daretozlatan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The USWNT is supposed to be in their bubble, especially now that its the World Cup. They're not supposed to like the media at all. So what happens when Christen Press starts to fall for a journalist?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I know doing F/M isn't too common, especially with an OMC, but this idea came to me and I just started writing.
> 
> This is my first time writing anything like this, so any feedback is appreciated!

The final whistle sounded and the US Women’s National Team had its first win of the 2015 Women’s World Cup secured with a 3-1 victory over Australia. For Christen Press, the 26-year-old forward in a logjam of talent at her position, there was a sense of relief and jubilation. In her first career World Cup start she scored what wound up being the game-winner in the eventual 2-goal advantage. She received praise in the locker room, and after the squad was changed back into street clothes, there were media obligations to take care of. As expected there was a lot of attention being paid to the usuals, goalie Hope Solo, forwards Alex Morgan and Abby Wambach, as well as goal scorers Megan Rapinoe and Press. Pinoe seemed to get more attention, and Press was fine with that; it was well deserved seeing as Pinoe had scored the first and final goals of the match and had an amazing game. 

As the reporters started to clear out, Press saw him approaching. Tall, tanned skin, a built and filled out frame, eyes that seemed to change color with each angle of light that his face, and of course, the final touch, thick, shoulder length, wavy, brown-ish hair that looked like it belonged on a movie set. Being someone who kept journals and blogged every once in a while, she was more aware of the journalistic and media world than her teammates, so Press knew exactly who he was.

“I hope the game winner has a few good quotes left for me.”

His voice snapped her out of the trance she was in. 

“Uh, yeah… yeah of course!” Nice start Christen, she thought to herself. 

He smiled. “I’ll try and make it as quick and painless as possible.”

Christen could feel herself smiling back in a very genuine and involuntary way and answered the questions as best she could.  
**************************************************  
Kelley O’Hara had known Christen Press for a long time. They were teammates at Stanford, and developed a close friendship, which only grew stronger as they traversed the national team together. So when Kelley looked up from her locker and saw Press absolutely enthralled with this man with a media badge around his neck, she knew something was up. It seemed like the interview was wrapping up, so Kelley made her way over to where Press was standing. 

“Someone has a cru-ush! Someone has a cru-ush!” Kelley said in a sing-songy voice.

Press snapped her gaze away from the hair exiting the room and towards her best friend and let out a laugh.

“Do not!”

“Yeah? Then why were you playing with your hair during the interview? Chris, I’ve known you long enough to realize that’s your tell.”

She was taken aback by that. “Oh my god, was I? I didn’t even realize!”

“Who is he anyway?”

“What?” Christen asked, dumbfounded. “How do you NOT know who he is?”

“Well, enlighten me. You ARE the writing nerd of this team.”

“He’s Darron Long, one of THE best sports columnists on the planet! He’s done freelance work for some of the biggest papers and websites out there; the LA Times, Chicago Tribune, and both the Boston Herald AND the Boston Globe! He’s with ESPN now. And he’s only 24! I can’t believe he actually got assigned to this tournament!”

“Well, why is that confusing? It’s a World Cup, they only happen every four years for us. Kind of a big deal, no?”

“Well, yeah, but he’s been doing a lot of coverage on the Red Sox lately. I didn’t think they would just pluck him out of there in the middle of the season.”

“You said he’s 24? I thought sports writers were supposed to be old and white and cranky.”

“Seriously Kell? Did you even realize that journalism is a college major? Sure most reporters aren’t big time until later in life, but that’s what makes him so special! He’s the exception to that rule!”

The duo started making their way out to the team bus, and Kelley went for a good-natured rib.

“Christen Press falling for a younger guy, never thought I’d see the day.”

“Am not!” Press whined, but the look of sheer joy on her face told a completely different story.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Christen runs into Darron after the game.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I pretty much just write the first thing that comes to my head, so these may seem random at times.

“Hi. Table for 4?”

“About a 20 minute wait. If you’d like you can wait over at the bar.”

“Great. Thanks!”

It was late and Christen went down to the hotel restaurant ahead of Kelley, Cheney and Tobin to get a table. The teams next game was in 4 days against Sweden, and after the win, coach Ellis made it an early afternoon training session the next day; nothing too harsh, that would come the day after, before another light session the day before the match. Seeing as there was no early morning, the ladies utilized their time in different ways that evening; card games, shopping at one of the stores in the hotel, walking around the block, sleeping, and in Christen’s case, getting some food with teammates. She had changed out of her team jacket and opted for a grey Nike long sleeve shirt, leaving her US track pants and shoes on before telling Kelley, Tobin and Lauren she would go ahead of them to get a table.

As she turned a corner to the bar, she stopped and saw the familiar hair that caused her to unknowingly play with her own earlier that day. It was Darron Long, dressed in street clothes, yet looking even better than he did in the button up and pants he wore in the locker room. He was sitting at the bar as what looked like a fellow reporter stood up, presumably to leave. They did one of those guy handshakes, slamming their hands together and grabbing each others thumbs, before sliding their hands hooking their fingers, with a final, simultaneous shake up and then down. They said a few words before the second man turned and walked to the exit…exactly where she was standing.

“Excuse me, Ms. Press,” he said, sliding by her. She recognized him as a correspondent for a Canadian paper that she had seen him in the locker room earlier. She also realized he had said her name out loud and she looked back to the bar, where Darron turned around to see what the noise was. They locked eyes, and Christen could swear she was blushing now.

Darron smiled and motioned for her to come over. 

It seemed like an eternity for each foot to move, but she made her way over to the bar and hopped up on the stool next to him. 

“So, World Cup game-winners eat in the same places as normal people, huh?” 

Ok, Christen was definitely blushing now, and was thankful for the darkness of the bar. 

“Mr. Long, I-“

“You can call me Darron, or whatever, if you want. Mr. Long makes me feel old, which isn’t so great outside of a news room,” he said. It wasn’t a snappy tone, but rather a pleasant, genuine one.

“Oh, um, okay. Darron, I just wanted to say that I am a huge fan of your work as a journalist. I’m kind of a writing nerd, so I follow all the big names.”

“Is that so? Normally when athletes want to bring up my work its because I made them mad.”

“Well, you haven’t written anything bad about me yet. I mean, we’ll see if that holds true tomorrow morning I guess,” she said with a sly grin. Christen was feeling a lot more comfortable now and started to relax.

Darron grinned back. “Nah, as a matter of fact, my editor loved those quotes you gave me. And as long as you don’t give up a shitload of runs like that dickhead Rick Porcello I wont have to criticize your performance. Dude is nice as hell, but cant pitch for shit right now.”

Press didn’t know how to respond to this, or the blatant swearing from someone she had only interacted with in a professional manner, and her face must have shown signs of confusion or displeasure because Darron’s face grew a little more serious.

“Is it the swearing? I can switch that off if you want.”

“No no! You can swear if you want. It just caught me a little off guard is all.”

A smile grew on Darron’s face. “Weird right? I bet you thought I only wore khakis and button downs to.”

“I mean I’ve only ever seen you in a professional setting, so you can’t blame me!”

“I’m fucking with you. Lighten up, have a beer, I can call my drug guy if you want, get you some green to take the edge off,” he said grinning. 

“One, no, I’m playing at the World Cup, I can’t exactly fail a test. Two, you do,” Christen looks around before continuing in a hushed voice. “Drugs?”

That earned a laugh form Darron. “Uh, yeah occasionally. I’m 24 and went to U of Hawaii. I don’t have a dealer though, my buddy in Boston does.”

“Ok, I’ll pass over that and get this back on an acceptable track. How did you end up at Hawaii if you’re from Boston exactly? Those are like complete opposites.”

“To make a long story short, my dad’s family moved from Hong Kong to Hawaii when he was little, he moved to Boston for college, stayed, met my mom, and now my miscellaneous looking face is here. I still have family in Hawaii so I consider it a second home and knew I would be back. Went to school there, played some football, graduated early, and you know the rest I presume.”

“Well, I understand wanting to go back to the warmer weather, being from California.”

“Palos Verdes, right?” Christen was startled he knew that. “Ahh, did that come off as creepy? Sorry about that. I had to do research on all of you heading into the tournament, just so you don’t think I wasn’t randomly looking you up online.”

“Press you better have gotten us a table!”

Christen and Darron looked behind them to see Kelley, Cheney and Tobin walking over to them.

“All taken care of Kells. It should be ready soon.”

“Darron! What’s up man!” Tobin sped up her pace towards them.

“Tobinho! Sup girl! I musta missed you in the locker room earlier!”

They gave each other a long hug, and Christen suddenly felt small.

“Can we get four Captain and Coke’s?” Kelley asked the bartender. “Unless of course reporter-man over here is gonna write up a huge piece on how we’re bad teammates for drinking after a game.” She was smiling and Darron seemed to know automatically it was a joke.

“Nope, what you do in your personal life is off the record. Of course, if you were to, say, get far too drunk tonight and pass out in an alley, and TMZ happened to get footage, I would probably have to crucify you in my column O’Hara.” That drew a laugh from all 4 players.

Darron turned his attention back to Tobin. “You ever gonna give me back my fuckin’ snapback you thief?” he said, motioning to the hat the midfielder was wearing.

Tobin laughed again. “Nah, I’ll probably feed it to a dog or something when I’m done with it. We gotta do some catching up man!”

“Press, party of four?” They heard the hostess call them to dinner. 

“Well, I will leave you ladies to your dinner. We can talk soon Tobin, shoot me a text or something when you’re free for lunch or whatever. Oh I may drop by training tomorrow to. Look for column material or something. Ellis said late afternoon, right?” They nodded. “Alright cool. Thanks. Nice talking to you Christen.” He smiled at her before once again bidding them all a good night and exiting the bar.

******************

“So how do you know Darron Long?” Christen asked Tobin.

“He was in the apartment next to one of my cousins when I stayed with her for a few weeks in LA. Musta been when he was with the Times down there. But we just sorta hung out a little, and he went surfing with me once. Just became good friends in a short amount of time. I stayed at his place for a couple nights in Boston to over the offseason.”

“And then you stole his hat?” Kelley chimed in.

“No, but that’s a pretty good story actually. We were at a bar and this dude would not stop hitting on me. Darron sees him keep trying to get my number and comes right up and puts his hat on my head and pretends he’s my boyfriend to scare the dude away. He just forgot to take it back, and as you can see it’s a dope hat, so I kept it.”

After a few moments of silence Kelley let it slip.

“Press has a huge crush on him!”

Christen shrieked while the other two giggled. 

“It’s not a huge crush!” she protested.

“Aha! But you’re not denying the existence of a crush!”

“Well, I mean, uh…He’s easy on the eyes, yeah. And funny. And has a really interesting background to. Did you guys know he was born in Hawaii?”

Kelley said no at the same time Tobin said yes.

“And that his dad is from Hong Kong?”

This time both of the other girls said no.

“Wait, Tobin, he never told you that?”

Tobin shook her head no. “He didn’t really talk much about growing up or his family or anything.” She shared a look with Kelley, who then turned to Christen with a smile on her face.

“Looks like you’re not the only one with a crush, Press.”

Christens eyes grew wide. “What? No no no! We were just making small talk. He was being friendly.”

Tobin spoke now. “Well, before you ask, because you would have eventually, there is nothing, and never was anything, romantic between me and Darron Long. Like I said, we’re friends and he pretended to be my boyfriend once to get me out of an awkward situation. We’re strictly platonic.”

“Christen, you HAVE to go for it!” Cheney quipped. 

“Guys, I’m just gonna focus on winning this World Cup and doing my job right now.”

Christen knew she was shy by nature, at least until she built a rapport with someone and learned to trust them, so she was hesitant to even think about making a move on him. Dinner went by quickly, and seeing as they did play a game earlier, sleep found her soon after. 

Darron showed up for the tail end of the teams training session the next day. He even talked to her, though it was strictly business and professional, seeing as she had played in Sweden and knew some of the opponents. Afterwards he shook her hand, and as he turned to walk away, Tobin told him to check his phone, dummy, she’s free to catch up a little in between training and that evenings meetings and dinner. 

Christen knew she didn’t have to think anything of that anymore, and that helped her relax. She was also distracted by the fact that she would once again be starting in the squads next game.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Christen spends more time with Darron, and someone has to spill the beans to a teammate.

The game and subsequent training sessions went by quickly. Darron would say “hi” to her and ask her how she was when he came into the locker room after practice and after the Sweden game asked her a few questions about playing former teammates, but other than those instances, she rarely saw him. She assumed she merely had to go down to the hotel bar or something to find him, but being caught up in training and the game gave her little time to seek him out. The draw with Sweden didn’t help either, and the team was being called out for “playing without passion”; this made her angry, because they all obviously wanted to win, but sometimes sports can be cruel and the ball doesn’t roll your way; there was no lack of passion on that squad. 

Time flew and before she knew it, it was time for the knockout stage to begin. They had their opponent, Colombia, the time and date, and were ready to set out on their mission. Seeing Darron was business as usual, but Christen was growing more and more comfortable around him, and, somewhat unknowingly, more and more fond of him as well. He didn’t always stay in the same hotel as them, so seeking him out now would mean walking or taking a cab, and coach had them under a tight leash leading up to games. There were off days, but they were mainly spent as a team, or at least among teammates, out of the medias eye. 

On the off day leading up to their game with China, Christen, Kelley, Tobin and Kreiger decided to head to the hotel gym to get some light work in before going for a walk around downtown Ottawa. As they entered what they thought was an empty gym, they heard the sound of weights moving. They walked in to find a man bench-pressing alone. As he re-racked the bar, and sat up, Christen realized who it was. Darron was once again in front of her somewhere that wasn’t the locker room or field. He had on sneakers, basketball shorts, a t-shirt with the sleeves cut off, and headphones on his head. He also had his hair tied back, a look Christen had never seen him with before, but one she absolutely approved of.

He saw them and got up smiling. “Damn, do you guys ever take an ACTUAL day off?”

“Just light stuff today, gotta keep the blood flowing, even on the off day,” Krieger said, as she and Kelley walked by to get started. 

“Well I’m done if you need any of this.” He bent down to grab his water bottle and Christen couldn’t help but check out his rear-end in those shorts.

“Sweet cheeks D.” Tobin said what Christen was thinking.

Darron smirked. “Perv.” He turned his head towards Christen and smiled. “See you guys later.”

Christen watched him leave, and had a tough time focusing on the workout afterwards.

**********************

Later in the afternoon, after roaming the streets of Ottawa, Christen was playing a card game with Tobin and Kelley in Tobin’s room while other teammates mulled around the hallway. After what had to be their 3rd game in an hour, she needed to stretch her legs, and went down to the lobby café for water. 

She got her water and a bag of Goldfish from the counter and turned towards the sitting area in the lobby. Fully intending on taking the elevator back up to her floor, she found herself stopped dead in her tracks. Sitting in one of the armchairs was Darron, headphones on and typing away on his laptop. And, as an added bonus, his hair was tied back again, with a few hairs escaping to make him look oh so good. Christen decided she could use some extra time to stretch her legs and walked over. She tapped him on the shoulder and he looked up. He smiled as soon as he saw who it was and took the headphones off.

“Christen! Hey! Have a seat.” He motioned towards the chair across from him. She sat down and placed her snacks on the table.

“Whatcha up to?”

“I was just writing a story for the Sox game tonight.”

Christen realized she had interrupted him as he was writing, and pulling double duty nonetheless; covering the tournament and continuing to write the occasional column couldn’t be very easy. 

“Oh, I didn’t realize you were working! I’m so sorry!”

Darron just smiled. “Your timing couldn’t have been any better actually. I’m waiting for a call to get some quotes I need to finish the column and was about to get very, very bored. So thank you for showing up.”

Christen smiled back and they made small talk about each of their days after the gym encounter until Darron’s phone began to ring. 

“About time,” he said grabbing it off the table. “S’cuse me for a second.” 

Christen snuck a peek at the caller ID before Darron put the phone to his ear and was stunned to see who was calling.

“Dave, you gotta stop going to extras my man… No for the last time I’m not calling you that…. I don’t care if he calls you that, I’m not…. Alright you jackass, lets get this done so we can both get on with our lives.”

Christen listened to Darron ask a few questions to David Ortiz, and give him a good-natured ribbing along the way, while typing away on his keyboard.

“Alright talk to you later Dave. Say hi to the family for me.” He wrapped up the call, dialed his editor to tell him to check his email soon, and sent the draft along before closing his laptop. 

“Sorry about that.”

“How do you have David Ortiz’s number?” 

Darron shrugged. “I have a lot of numbers in the industry. Players, coaches, execs, GMs, other insiders. Par for the course. Makes quote getting a lot easier. Also, I keep in touch with a lot of the guys I tend to cover a lot. Texting them periodically to just check in helps to build a relationship. Little pro tip for you.”

They simply looked at each other in silence for a few moments after that before Darron broke in again.

“Hey, what’s your number? You know, in case I need a quote or something. You’ve given so many good ones I might as well dip back into the well if I’m in a pinch.”

Christen smiled and obliged. After exchanging numbers, she looked beyond Darron towards the café counter, where Tobin, Kelley and Cheney were standing with water in hand, looking at the two of them and whispering to each other. Then Lauren made a kissy face in their direction and all three laughed, loud enough that Darron turned to see them. He looked back to Christen and grinned. 

“You can go if you want. I don’t wanna keep you from your teammates. I actually gotta get going soon myself, there’s a press meeting with coach Ellis I gotta be at.”

Christen’s smile grew softer. She didn’t want him to leave, and she didn’t want to leave him either. But she understood he had a job to do, and that she had a curfew that was rapidly approaching. So they both got up. 

“You know my schedule coming up is pretty flexible with the Sox going on a short break. So if I were to call you at some point for a quote, and you maybe would rather give me the quote in person, I could probably make that work. If you get what I mean.” 

Christen felt her soft smile grow wide. “Yeah of course! Anytime.”

“Sounds good.” He wrapped an arm around her and gave her a quick squeeze before letting her go and making his way down a hallway and out of sight. Christen made her way over to her teammates, who were all grinning at her stupidly. They were silent as they made their way back to the elevators and up to their floor.

********************

“Soooo, what’s going on guys?” She asked as they made their way down the hallway. Christen couldn’t take the intentional silence or stupid grins any longer.

“I don’t know, you tell us what’s going on.” Cheney said back.

“Yeah Pressy. Exchanging numbers with your big crush?” Kelley smirked.

“Who has a crush on who?” The four girls looked behind them to see Abby exiting her room.

“Eavesdropping again Abby?” Kelley joked.

“That’s cute O’Hara. Real cute. I’m going to Syd’s room and happened to walk out at what appears to be the right time. So who’s crushing on who?”

The four looked at each other. They all seemed to understand Abby would find out anyway, and rather than getting cornered alone, as was the norm, Kelley spoke up with her three teammates next to her.

“Ummm, Christen…” Abby motioned for her to go on. “…has a crush on, on umm…”

“Use your words Kelley.” Abby jibed.

“Darron Long!” Kelley squeaked out.

Abby’s face suddenly went serious. “Christen is this true.” Her fellow striker nodded slowly, ready to face the legends wrath.

“Alright this is a loaded one, so lets start with the obvious. He’s media. We don’t like the media remember? I’ll admit he’s one of the good ones and never asks the same stupid questions over and over, but the point remains. We have to stay in the bubble. Tuning the media out might be hard when you’re infatuated with one of the most prominent media members here.”

“Abby, I’m 100% focused on our goal. I promise nothing outside of this team will distract me from that. Winning it all is my dream to.” Christen replied.

Abby studied her for a moment before exhaling heavily. “Alright, I trust you. God, you’re lucky I like you Pressy. I’ll see you all later.” And with that she spun on her heel and made her way down the hall to Sydney’s room.

The foursome looked at each other and went back into Tobin’s room for a little while, before splitting up to their respective rooms for some much needed rest.

************************

The next few days flew by for the squad. Between training sessions gearing up for Germany in the semi finals, the actual game with Germany, and the days leading up to the final, a rematch with Japan from the World Cup four years ago, as well as the Olympics the year after that, there was barely any time to step back and take it all in. It was a whirlwind, and the days leading up to the final were especially hectic. They seemed to go slower and slower as each hour went by. She still saw Darron almost every day, albeit in a professional manner, though they would make small talk afterwards and texted each other occasionally. She knew she owed it to herself and her team to stay completely focused on the task at hand and her role. What happened after the game against Japan was up in the air, but until then Christen was committed to the team, and Darron to his media duties. Even so, the other 22 players saw a slow burn and loved to tease her about it.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Win as a team, celebrate as a team.

“Everybody get in!”

Champagne showered everyone in the locker room during the post game celebration.

After the 5-2 win over Japan to win the World Cup, emotions were certainly running high.

When the party moved to the locker room, the team pictures started, as did the constant popping of bottles and cracking of beer cans.

When the media was allowed into the locker room, it was a circus unlike anything any player had seen. All 23 members of the squad were fielding questions as packs of reporters moved from one player to the next, and the big stars of the game, like Carli Lloyd and Lauren Holiday, were getting ushered out to appear on Fox’s post game broadcast.

Christen saw a group of reporters finishing up with HAO and making their way to her stall. Among them was one Darron Long.

After answering the typical questions for a few minutes, the pack was beginning to move on to the next player. Before leaving, Darron caught Christens eye and mouthed to her, “Text you later”. With a smile and a wink, he was gone.

It was a strange feeling getting back to the hotel with a championship trophy while it was still light out. To accommodate the east coast the game had started at 4 PM in Vancouver. It was close to 8 PM when the team returned to the hotel, where to postgame party would be held. They all scattered to their hotel rooms, some to change out of their team apparel, some to shower, others simply just take it all in in relative peace for a moment.

As she changed, Christen heard her phone go off on the night table. She unlocked it and looked at its contents. There were texts and calls from family and friends, and her Twitter app was blowing up with mentions from fans. One text caught her eye though.

**D: Congrats! You deserve it. You all do. Had an absolute blast covering this team. Of course I wouldn’t be anywhere without my #1 quote giver ;) Have fun tonight Press**

She wasn’t sure how to respond to Darron’s message. She was so full of emotions and simply couldn’t sort them out in her head, never mind convey them through a text message.

“Who has you at such a loss for words?”

Kelley had exited the bathroom where she was showering and had been watching Christen read the text in her head over and over.

“Oh, um, its, its no one. Just so much adrenaline, its hard ot put everything into words, ya know?” Christen stumbled for that one, and Kelley noticed, smiling.

“Invite him to the party! All of our friends and family are gonna be there, and its not like they would just deny him at the door if you tell them to let him in. We have championship privilege now, use it!”

Christen thought about it for a moment, even though she didn’t have to.

**C: Thank you so much! You’re definitely our favorite media member, and that’s saying something! We’re having a party in the ballroom for friends and family soon, and if security thinks you’re cool enough I may be able to sneak you in ;)**

It didn’t take long for him to respond.

**D: Finishing up some editing on my final article of the tourney. Meet you in the lobby in 15?? Also I’m plenty cool enough for your parties, Stanford nerd**

She couldn’t help but chuckle at that one, apparently very audibly.

“I’ll assume I can expect a certain journalist at the party then,” Kelley smirked.

****************************

The party was an absolute blast. Christen and Darron walked in and were instantly mobbed by Pinoe, Ashlyn and Krieger.

“Woahhhh, Press, what are you doing? You brought press as your plus-one?” Ashlyn said before turning to Krieger. “You see what I did there? Cause Press and he’s a member of the press? Hahahaha!”

Yeah, Christen had some catching up to do to get as drunk as her teammates were right now. Darron was quick on the draw though.

“Well Harris, I finished covering this team half an hour ago, so lets go do a shot.”

“I want in!” Pinoe yelled over the music.

Darron turned to Christen and Kriegs. “You guys coming? Or can I bring anything back for you?”

“I’m good,” Krieger said, lifting her beer bottle.

“I’ll take a beer,” Christen said.

With that, Darron, Pinoe and Ashlyn took off towards the open bar, leaving Press with the right back.

“So you really like this reporter guy, huh?” Krieger caught Christen slightly off guard with that one.

“I can’t lie. I think I’m really into him.”

“I hate to break it to you, but it’s been a little obvious you’re into each other this whole tournament. Also, Kelley spilled the beans when she got here.”

“Ugh, was it really that obvious? I was trying so hard to stay focused!”

“Don’t worry about any of that. We won! Celebrate! And my advice: go for it! You’re so cute together! My brother was saying so earlier when I brought it up with him, and you know he’s like the ultimate judge of character.”

Christen was a little overwhelmed at first, but this encouragement from Krieger seemed to calm her down a little. Before she could answer, the shot-taking trio returned, with Darron handing her a beer and holding an unopened champagne bottle for them. She took the beer and decided whatever happened tonight would happen and she felt confident after hearing Krieger’s words.

The duo was seemingly inseparable the entire night. They talked with each other, with teammates, friends, and family. They laughed, drank, danced, drank, took pictures, and drank some more. When the whole team went up on stage, Darron chatted up Dom and Servando and Jrue and Zach. When she went up to the second level of the ballroom where her family and friends were, she looked down to see him doing more shots with Kelley and Tobin. They were having a fantastic time and didn’t want to leave. But the time difference caught up to them; starting a postgame party before 10 PM meant that by 1 AM, everyone was reaching their breaking point. Carli would be staying up until 3 AM to appear to appear on east coast morning shows, but by that point most of the attendees had cleared the ballroom, seemingly worn out but at the same time anxious to get up and continue the celebration.


	5. Chapter 5

Christen woke up at about 645 AM, and though she wasn’t a morning person, felt an energy rush through her veins when she remembered where she was and what had happened the day before. What happened at the after party was much more difficult to decipher, but she didn’t fret with that. She was finishing her packing for their flight to LA the next day when her phone beeped.

**D:I don’t drink coffee, but I am so hung over right now I may need to start. You got any time to spare? Meet in lobby in 5? Also, is it bad that I’m 24 and have this bad of a hangover?**

Christen checked the clock on her nightstand; it was only 7 AM local time, and there was a team breakfast planned for 9 AM. She looked at Kelley fast asleep on her bed, took note of her own head pounding, and decided to head to the lobby after a quick reply.

She walked over to where Darron was sitting and took note of how good he looked even while nursing a hangover. His hair was once again tied back, and he had on a plain, salmon colored tshirt, with navy blue basketball shorts and a pair of red, white and blue Nike Air Max 1’s on his feet.

They made their way out of the hotel after deciding walking to a local coffee shop was their best bet to get some fresh air.

“These shades are staying on the whole time and are hiding worlds of hurt right now,” he said.

They strolled into the coffee shop, ordered and took their drinks to an outside table with an umbrella over them, surprisingly the only ones to choose this option.

“How much do you remember from last night?” Christen didn’t remember much herself. She had always been a bit of a lightweight when it came to drinking.

“Enough to know it does not take much at all for you to blackout.” Darron smirked as Christen groaned.

“Don’t worry, everyone got a little sloppy last night. I managed to drink Ashlyn under the table, at least until she rose from the dead.”

At that moment a group of girls made their way outside, each doing a double take towards where the pair were seated. They started to whisper to each other before approaching them.

One of the girls spoke up. “Um, excuse me, are you Christen Press?”

Christen smiled, realizing it was her first time being noticed in public as a World Champion. “Why yes I am!”

This set off the group of girls, each of them babbling at 1,000 miles an hour.

“Oh my god, I’m such a big fan!” “Congratulations on yesterday!” “Can you sign my shirt?”

Darron laughed and Christen kicked him under the table. “Of course! Do you have a pen?” She took the time to sign everything presented to her, with Darron taking it in while leaning back in his chair and sipping his drink.

“Can I get a picture?” “Me to?” Christen posed for pictures with each girl before Darron spoke up.

“Hey how about a group picture? Here, let me see your phone.” He took one of the girls phones tapped a few times on the screen, and motioned for them all to get in the picture. He snapped a picture and gave the girl her phone back.

“I took it with your Snapchat so you can post it there, and I saved it to your photos so you can send it to the rest of your friends and post it on Twitter and all that.” He smiled down at the girl warmly.

The girl seemed to be in awe of him rather than Christen now. “I didn’t even think of Snapchat! Good call on that.” She turned to Christen now. “Is he your brother? Or boyfriend?”

“Oh my god, Sarah, you cant just SAY that!” One of the girls shrieked. Darron and Christen laughed.

“I’m either her boyfriend or her adorable little brother. It’s up to you to guess right.” He said with a wink.

The girls said their “thank you’s” and went back to their table, whispering the whole time (“Well they sorta look alike so maybe brother?” “But I’ve never heard her mention a brother before? Unless he just doesn’t do Twitter or family stuff?”).

Christen and Darron sat back down. “That was so mean to say that!”

“Not as mean as you telling Kling you would punch her teeth out last night,” he replied with a straight face.

“Oh my god, did I really say that!” Christen covered her mouth in shock.

Darron’s face broke and he started laughing. “You should see your face right now, it’s priceless. No, of course you didn’t say that. Even blackout drunk you’re still  the most polite person ever.”

They recounted the events of the after party to the best of their abilities and made their way back to the hotel. There was still an hour or so to spare before the team breakfast, and Christen knew exactly what she wanted to do.

“I need to get my meditation in before the day gets crazy again.”

As they reached the elevators Darron turned to her.

“You know, I have a great view from my room’s balcony you could use. Nice and quiet to.”

Christen felt both intrigued and uneasy about the proposition. After a momentary pause, Darron spoke up again.

“I’m gonna try and sleep a little anyway, so it would really be great timing.”

With that final selling point, the two were entering his room and Christen took in the view. She grabbed a towel from the bathroom to put on the ground while Darron jumped on his bed and took out his phone. It took just seconds of him opening his Twitter app to speak again.

“Uhhh, I don’t want to alarm you right before you do your thing, but you may want to check your phone.”

He sounded serious, so Christen grabbed her phone and checked her home screen. Dozens of new texts and so many Twitter notifications, the app stopped trying to increase the number. She chose to look at her texts first. The first one was from her little sister.

**Chris you’re all over Twitter right now! Pictures of you and some guy getting cozy at the party and getting coffee this morning. You got a new man and didn’t tell me!? Kiddingggg**

Christen opened her Twitter timeline and sure enough, TMZ, People Magazine, E!, etc. All of them were tweeting pictures of her and Darron at the after party and getting coffee together. Did these people ever take a break???

Not only were those publications tweeting about her and Darron, fans were to. Her notifications were full of “Are @ChristenPress and @DarronLong an item?!” type of tweets.

Christen was speechless. Luckily, Darron still had his ability to talk.

“Well it didn’t take long for you to start getting the true celebrity treatment.”

Christen looked up at him. He was obviously trying to play it all off to calm her down; she had never had her private life been such a focus of the public eye and it was going to take some getting used to.

“Its not funny, you’re in these tweets to! What do we do? How are we supposed to respond?” Christen had just won a World Cup hours before, she wasn’t supposed to be so stressed out after accomplishing that feat.

“Hey, don’t worry. Go meditate and don’t think about it. After that we can plan something out or whatever.”

Christen admitted to herself that meditation was probably the best thing for her right now and go to it.

20 minutes later she was getting up and feeling refreshed. She still wasn’t sure how to tackle this issue that had sprung up, but she felt calmer about it than before. Darron was asleep and team breakfast was starting soon, so Christen made her way out of the room and downstairs, sending him a text of her whereabouts and that they could talk later.

She honestly wasn’t sure how her teammates would react, or if they had even seen her situation yet. When she walked through the doors to the breakfast, she got her answer.

Catcalls came from different tables, and different girls took their turns giving her a good-natured ribbing. Christen should have known that this would be the reaction she would get; they were all friends, and she knew that all of her teammates would be supportive of her, but would still keep a loose environment. Christen took a seat a table with Kelley, Alex, Syd, Kling and Morgan.

“Well, if it isn’t the newest media darling!” Alex said. If anyone would know how Christen was feeling now, it would be Alex Morgan.

“Did you guys do anything after the party last night?” Kelley asked eagerly.

“What? No, Kelley, we went back to our room together and woke up alone in the room.” Christen laughed as her friend tried to recollect that from her haze.

“So you’re just chilling in his room now without hitting that ass?” Syd asked.

“No, I was just meditating on the balcony. And how did you know I was in his room this morning? Did TMZ or something tweet that?” Christen tried to remember if there was any media tailing them in the lobby, but came up with nothing.

Syd looked at her strangely. “Uhhh, no? He tweeted it. Did you not know?”

Christen shook her head no and pulled out her phone, opened up her Twitter app, and went right to Darron’s account. And there it was.

**@DarronLong: Wins a World Cup, parties like its ’99, and still finds time to meditate. I could watch her all day long**

Attached to the tweet was a picture. It was taken from an angle and far away, from the bed she realized, so her face wasn’t fully visible, but it was indeed a picture of Christen deep in meditation. He didn’t tag her in it, but it was obvious who it was.

“Ugh, that’s so cute I want to throw up.” Syd sure knew how to brighten the mood.

“Seriously Pressy, between that and all the pictures of you guys last night and this morning, you’re so adorable together.” Morgan spoke up for the first time that morning.

“Guys, thank you, but we’re not together.”

Alex stared at her half in confusion and half in amusement. “You’re not? Oh of course you’re not!” she said sarcastically.

“Get on it Chris! I swear that guy could turn Kriegs and Ash straight and against each other.”

“I heard that KO!” Ashlyn yelled across the room, drawing laughter from the squad.

Breakfast continued with lighthearted conversation and cheerful spirit.

Christen texted Darron, and he answered moments later.

**C:Nice tweet :)**

**D:Couldn’t resist. Had a feeling you might like it!**

With that, Christen could breather easier. She thought back to the moment with the girls at the coffee shop that morning, and how Darron didn’t deny the possibility of being her boyfriend. Had they just been on their first date together and not known it?


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Christen and Darron face the consequences of their get togethers.

The team was all packed and ready for their flight to Los Angeles to continue their celebration.

Christen took her seat next to Kelley on the flight and settled in. Everyone was in good spirits, obviously. When they landed, Christen turned on her phone and found a text from Darron waiting for her.

**D:Call me when you land. I have something you might wanna hear.**

Thinking of the number of directions this could go made Christens head spin as she dialed him up.

“Hey.”

“Darron? What’s going on? Is everything alright?”

“I’ll cut right to the chase. I just got a call from my editor who informed me that some of the higher ups saw all of our pictures from the party and the morning after. I guess they’re being forced into a corner because now competitors are saying ESPN employs people with no integrity or ethics, so I have to go meet with them.”

“What? Why is it a problem?” Christen was certain she knew why, but needed to hear it from Darron to be fully convinced.

“Well my stories from the tournament apparently got a lot of traffic, so people are saying I used you to get better info and that I told you and the team to play favorites with reporters.”

“That’s bullshit!” Christen didn’t realize she had said it so loud, and also didn’t realize that now half the team was looking at her as they waited for their buses at LAX.

“I know, I know. Look I’m gonna meet with them and tell them the truth, which we both know, but they’re going to have to issue a statement.”

Christen was silent so Darron went on.

“I’m guessing you’ll be getting questions from the press, and since you’re in LA, TMZ will be all over this.”

“Oh I know. I think I can see some outside near the bus already.”

“Alright, don’t decline comment because that looks suspicious. Answer the questions you wish you were asked not the ones they actually ask.”

“What? What does that mean?”

“It means when they ask you about us, you talk about the team. I don’t mean to be overbearing like this, but any little sound bite and we get backlash, and then I maybe get suspended, or fired, and you maybe get suspended.”

Christen sighed. “I know. I’ll be fine. And thank you.”

“Hey, take a deep breath, cause you got this. I know you’re all coached well in dealing with media, so I have complete faith. We’ll tell the world when we’re ready. And the next time we can get together, I want to take you out, if that’s cool with you.”

Christen closed her eyes and smiled. “That would be fine by me.”

“Fantastic. I won’t be able to make it to LA Live but we’ll figure something out. Just let me handle this ESPN shit, and you focus on the celebrations. You earned them.”

They said their goodbyes and hung up. When Christen looked around, she realized she had quite the captivated audience.

“Uhhh, what was that?” Whitney was the first to speak as the squad made their way out to the buses.

“Nothing.” Her teammates saw right through that.

Tobin was next. “Was it Darron?” Christen nodded reluctantly.

They made their way outside and the cameras started clicking as microphones were shoved near them all. Christen couldn’t hear what her teammates were being asked due to the fact she was being bombarded herself.

“Christen! Any comment on the pictures of you and Darron Long?”  
“Are you two dating?”  
“Was he using you and the team to gain an advantage over other reporters?”

Christen took a deep breath. “Yeah, you know, I’m just so proud of this team and how every played. Every member of this squad had their role and they executed it to perfection.”

The paparazzi looked at her oddly before one cameraman spoke up. “That wasn’t what we were asking about.”

Christen felt a fire brewing in her stomach, but composed herself. “I’m here to talk about our team and the tournament that we just won. If there are no questions about that, I’ll talk to you all later.” With that she made her way onto the bus.

She sat down, with Kelley next to her, Tobin and Alex in front of them, and Ali and Ash behind.

“So about the phone call. You seemed pretty angry at one point and then happy at another. What the hell happened?” Kelley asked.

Christen gave them the rundown of what Darron had told her.

“That doesn’t seem fair. A few reporters have had relationships with athletes, it’s not a big deal!” Ali quipped.

“Yeah, and he obviously wasn’t using you or any of us considering he asked you out. This is the media battling for supremacy and you and Darron got caught in the crossfire.” Tobin offered.

“Welp, there’s already a bunch of shit on Twitter saying he should get suspended.” Kelley said scrolling on her phone.

“What? Why would he get suspended?” Christen asked.

It was Ash’s turn now. “I’m guessing for something like ‘inapropriate and unprofessional behavior’ or some bullshit like that. Look at what some of those other idiots in the media say and don’t get suspended!”

Christen assured them she would be fine, and she truly did have a blast at LA Live. But in the back of her mind, she couldn’t help but think about her situation. She tried not to look at any negative Twitter mentions about herself and Darron, instead focusing on the kind words that made the majority of her inbox. But every now and then, she would skim past a Tweet or two that was brutal. Darron seemed to be getting the worst of it, which made her feel a little bit guilty.

The night before the ticker tape parade in New York, Darron texted her to let her know that he had his meeting with ESPN brass, that things seem to go well, and that the statement on the subject would be issued the next morning.

**D:I don’t know what it will say yet. Pretty shitty timing to. Enjoy tomorrow, you earned it, don’t let anything weigh you down. I’ll be watching!**

Christen woke up for the team’s GMA appearance before the parade knowing today would be interesting to say the least. Between GMA and the parade, she found herself scrolling through Twitter. That’s when she came across it.

**@ESPN: ESPN has issued a statement on the situation regarding columnist and analyst Darron Long. READ here**

Christen stared at the screen for what seemed like an eternity before exhaling sharply. Kelley and Ash noticed this and stood over her shoulders as she clicked on the link.

_Following the United States 2015 Women’s World Cup victory on 5 June 2015, photographs of ESPN columnist and analyst Darron Long surfaced on the Internet. These photographs show Mr. Long getting coffee and attending the U.S. Soccer Women’s National Team after party with a member of the team. After meeting with Mr. Long, we have decided that the photographs do not show anything of real significance. Mr. Long has assured us that he presented himself in a professional manner while covering the tournament and that the photographs in question were taken after he had completed his duties covering the tournament and the team. He is adamant in saying that any relationships or friendships he has with any members of the USWNT had no bearing on his ability to gather information for his stories, nor did it hinder any other reporter’s ability to gather information. After listening to what Mr. Long had to say in our lengthy meeting, we have chosen not to take any action towards him. To conclude, Mr. Long will continue to be employed by ESPN, and he will have our full support. He is a bright young man and one of the best in the industry, and being a professional through and through, we are pleased to have him representing ESPN. ESPN executives, employees and representatives will not be required to speak on the matter any further, and have been advised as such._

It took Christen a moment to process what she just read, but she felt two bodies quickly close on her.

“He’s not suspended! Christen!” Kelley squealed in excitement for her friend.

“Wow, ESPN basically just took a shit on their competition with that!” Ash said squeezing her arms tighter around Christen.

Christen closed the link to show her Twitter homepage again. There was a new tweet at the top of the screen that immediately drew her eye.

**@DarronLong: Thx to all showing love the past few days. I'm always a professional at work, no exceptions. Also my personal life is really boring.**

Christen smiled to herself at that and sent a quick text to Darron.

**C:Read the statement. So happy!**

**D:I had a feeling it would be good. Probably wont be able to cover the team for a while, or ever. But that means I can actually just watch you in Rio ;) You coming to Boston on July 22nd right?**

**C:That’s the plan! See you then?**

**D:Absolutley**

“Alright it’s time!” she heard coach Ellis call out.

Christen got onto her float and the parade began. She had an absolute blast and soaked it all in. When it was time for the ceremony with the mayor, Christen took her seat, took a quick selfie, and sent it to Darren. As expected, her phone buzzed with a Twitter notification shortly after. With the picture she had sent on the screen she read:

**@DarronLong: 3 stars on the shirt+that infectious 5 star smile=8 stars #GoodAtMath #MyChamp @ChristenPress**

Kling, who was seated next to her, must have seen Christens screen, because she started making a gagging noise, going, “Please—Stop—Too—CUTE!!”

“Ha ha, very funny Kling.” Christen joked back, although she couldn’t help but think how cute it was herself. She had so many emotions going, between her new relationship, the World Cup, and the whirlwind that followed each. But she knew she was excited to see what the future held in store.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Making Press kind of feisty with the paparazzi was a complete gut feeling. I know she isn't like that too much if ever, but whatever.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Christen has a radio appearance during the Red Stars road trip to Boston before they play the Breakers.

Christen walked the red carpet with her teammates, each of them stopping every few feet for pictures and interviews. A good number of players were all in attendance for the ESPN Body Issue Party, which Kriegs had been a part of. During one interview, Christen was asked what it takes to get a date with any of the ladies on the national team. She answered it as best she could; it wasn’t exactly something she thought often about. But as fate would have it, she said something that quickly took the Internet by storm.

“You know, I’m a simple girl!”

And boy did the Internet have fun with that one. Perhaps no one more than a certain ESPN columnist she knew.

**@DarronLong: We’ll see, not holding my breath though RT @USWNT111 @DarronLong is @ChristenPress really a “simple girl”??**

**@DarronLong: How are we defining “simple” here babe? @ChristenPress**

**@ChristenPress: Oh you have jokes now, huh @DarronLong? Keep it up and I’ll ignore you in Boston next week**

*****************

Christen and the Red Stars were waiting for their flight to Boston at O’Hare in Chicago, and she spent the time on the phone with Darron.

“Hey what can you tell me about these radio guys I’m doing an interview with tomorrow?”

“What time are you on? I know Julie and Lori are going on to, I just forget who’s going when.”

“Julie’s on at 8:20 in the morning, I go in studio at 10:30, and then we have training at noon, and then Lori is on at 3:30.”

“Right, so Julie’s on with Fred Keefe and Rich Jackson, they’re great guys, should be fun. Lori drew Mike Taylor and Maz Russo, which is…unfortunate in some respects, but Mike actually followed the tournament really close, so they can actually talk about it. You, my friend, have Drew Jones and Max McCarthy. They’re awesome. DJ is on vacation still, but he’s real hyper. I go on with them once a week or so.”

“Tell them to go easy on us!”

“What, World Champs scared of the big bad radio people?” Christen could feel the sarcasm oozing through the earpiece of her phone.

“Oh be quiet! I’ll call you again when I land to try and iron out the next few days, ok?”

“Sounds good.”

**************************

Christen woke up the next morning to a text message from Darron.

**D: I have a surprise for you. You’re gonna wanna tune into the radio station at 9:55.**

Christen found this to be strange but figured it couldn’t be anything too bad. She went about her normal morning routine of meditation and breakfast before retreating back to her room where Julie, her roommate this trip, was getting ready to call into the morning show. Before she knew it, it was 9:45 and she was getting in a car to drive to the radio station. She would be the only one of the three Red Stars to be doing her interview in studio. It was close to 9:55, so she tuned the radio to the sports talk station she was on her way to. She heard the guys on the morning show recapping their show, with a special “thank you” to Julie for her time.

“Alright, so DJ is still on vacation, right?” One of the men said. “And McCarthy is out sick today?” This made Christens ears perk up. Was her interview off now? Why had no one from the team told her? She was rightfully confused with this new bit of information being shared with her.

“But fear not people, there’s an excellent fill in today, he’s filled in on many occasions before, he’s on with DJ and McCarthy every Monday anyway. Mr. Darron Long, hello sir.” Had Christen heard that right?

“Quite the introduction Fred!” Yep, that was Darron’s voice all right, and Christen felt a smile growing wide on her face.

“What do you have on the slate today,” the same man, Fred, asked.

“Unfortunately more DeflateGate talk. The story that won’t die. We’ll mix in some Red Sox as well, and at 10:30 we’ll have a special guest in studio, one Christen Press from the US Womens Soccer team to talk about her background, the World Cup and preview tomorrow’s NWSL game between her Chicago Red Stars and the Boston Breakers.”

“And that Press, you happen to know her fairly well, no?” A different man, Rich she assumed, piped in.

“Ah, yes, you could say we are acquaintances.” Darron laughed.

Fred chimed back in. “Alright well just don’t tell me where it happens, and please keep it off my setup. Alright everyone have a good day, bye.”

As their shows outro music played, Christen whipped out her phone and texted Darron.

**C: WHAT!?!? How???!!!**

**D: Hahahah I just found out this morning at like 530 I was filling in. They weren’t gonna move your interview so it’s still on. Can’t wait.**

Christen got to the station at about 10:15, and was shown to the sports talk wing of the building. She heard Darron kick it to commercial break and nearly knocked him over with her jumping hug when he came out the studio.

“Is breaking necks how you say hello in LA?” He said sarcastically. “This is our producer, Jim, and Hardy, our update guy,” he said motioning to two other men.

“Hey you guys should tweet out the link, I’m sure it’ll catch like wildfire.” Jim the producer said.

“Here, take a picture of us with my phone,” Darron said, handing his phone over.

They took their picture and Darron sent it to Christen so they could both use it in their tweets.

**@DarronLong: I swear this wasn’t planned. Talking life, World Cup and previewing tomorrow’s game w/ @ChristenPress NEXT. Listen HERE**

**@ChristenPress: Quite the surprise waiting for me this AM! Going on the radio with @DarronLong soon, wish me luck! Listen HERE**

“Perfect! Alright lets get in there.” Darron opened the door for Christen and showed her to a seat across from him that had a pair of headphones waiting for her.

Christen put the headphones on as Hardy finished his headlines and music came on to lead them in.

“Welcome back, DJ and McCarthy on ESPN 95.5, Darron Long filling in for those two today, they should both be back tomorrow. Excited for that Hardy?”

“Lucky me…” Hardy said with mock sadness. So far, this radio experience was unlike any others she had had since returning to the States.

“Alright, with us in studio now, a striker on the US Women’s Soccer team that just won the World Cup, she scored the game winning goal against Australia in their first game of that tournament, and her Chicago Red Stars visit the Boston Breakers tomorrow night in NWSL action. Christen Press, hello.”

“Good morning!” She responded.

They proceeded to recap the World Cup quickly, before Hardy chimed in again.

“So we’ve heard about the games and all that, and that’s alright, but what I want to hear about is the after party. Which, I guess, you can both tell us about.” He said smirking and motioning to both Christen and Darron.

Christen blushed and did her best to give a good answer while also remaining as vague as possible.

“It was a lot of fun! You know, we just had so much adrenaline, and we were surrounded by each other and all of our friends and family that made it up to Vancouver for the game, it was just so much fun.”

Darron was more blunt. “I’m only 24, but I may still be nursing that hangover. The last time I partied that hard was college.”

“That was, what, like 2 years ago?” Hardy chirped.

Christen was frankly struck by how candidly Darron spoke of the night in question, but he thankfully turned the conversation elsewhere.

“So we talked about the games themselves and obviously the whole tournament meant a lot to you and your teammates and all the members of the coaching and training staff, but have you really felt just how much of an impact you and your team have made?”

“I would say not entirely. Obviously the LA Live celebration we had was big, and the ticker tape parade was absolutely incredible, seeing all the people there and realizing that it was for us and our accomplishment. And just having people tell us what it meant to them and how we inspired them. But I think that’s just the beginning of it, really.”

“I can attest to that,” Darron began. Christen could see the wheels churning in his head. “That’s been the line that everyone’s used. ‘Inspired a nation, they inspired a nation and a generation’. And it seems a bit cliché. But it’s true. I was down at this park near my apartment where we do our flag football league, because that’s what washed up athletes do, and there’s this big public soccer field, and as I’m walking by it, all these kids are playing, boys and girls together, and they’re all saying ‘I call being Alex Morgan, I call being Carli Lloyd, I want to be Christen Press’. And that’s a huge impact, because when you’re a kid, playing outside you want to pretend to be your heroes, and you want to achieve what they achieved, and for young kids, both boys and girls, to look up to you all like that and say those things is amazing. And I think the reason is because of your team’s whole attitude towards fans. You’re all so personable and passionate and have your own unique personalities and stories alone, but when you’re all brought together its amplified. You all take the time to give back to fans and make sure every autograph is signed and every picture is taken, and these people love you all for that. I mean if we go back to that morning after the win, which has been more than publicized, that’s a perfect example. What the cameras apparently didn’t care about was the fact that, even running on a little sleep, maybe a headache, you took the time to sign autographs and take pictures with a group of like 5 or 6 girls, and you made their day, their week, their month. And I don’t mean to keep hogging the mic but it can’t be understated just how important this has all been, and how much you all truly mean to this new generation of fans.”

Christen was in awe of how passionately Darron spoke on this topic. He rarely went into this mode. It felt like it was just the two of them alone as he spoke, and he was staring directly into her eyes with a new intensity. It took her a moment to process everything, but all she could say was, “Wow, I mean thank you for sharing that for me. It’s those stories that keep all of us going. And yeah that morning after was really something special.”

“Alright well to abruptly switch gears here, you have a game tomorrow night we need to get to. Your teammate Julie Johnston was on this morning to talk about it, Lori Chalupny, another Chicago teammate of yours is on later today with Mike and Maz, lucky her, and Boston Breakers goalie Alyssa Naeher, who was on the World Cup team, was on yesterday with McCarthy. So…”

They finished up the interview with NWSL talk and previewing the game the next night, and before Christen knew it, it was 11 and she needed to go back to the hotel to get ready for the teams training session.

During the commercial break, Darron walked her out of the studio. Christen turned to him next to the car that would take her back to the hotel.

“What’s on deck for you after training?”

“Umm, nothing really, team dinner at 7 but that’s really it.”

“I’ll swing by around 4 and we can go sightseeing if you want.”

“Yeah, that sounds nice. Your coming to the game tomorrow right?”

“Wouldn’t miss it.” Christen smiled at hearing that.

“Alright I wont keep you any longer, see you at 4!” They met for a hug before Darron gave her a peck on the cheek and turned back to the station. Christen’s cheek felt hot the rest of the day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have some ideas to progress the story past the future, but I'm torn on whether or not to pretty much go completely AU or keep following the timeline as it happens and reacting. Maybe I'll write both versions and see what happens.
> 
> And this wedding situation with her high school (maybe current) boyfriend threw a loop into what I had written, but I think I have a way to work it in.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Christen does a Twitter Q&A.

Christen woke the next morning, went through her meditation and team breakfast, and sat through the teams last meeting before the game that night against the Breakers.

She had been out with Darron from 4 in the afternoon until she had to return to the hotel for the team’s dinner at 7. He had taken her to all the touristy spots around the historic city: the Freedom Trail, Boston Harbor, Fenway Park, and even a Boston Duck Boat Tour. Darron had even bought her one of those whistles shaped like a duckbill that made a quacking noise when you blew into it. Her teammates weren’t as appreciative of the gesture as she was. Overall, it was a fantatstic day, even if Darron kept poking fun at her for taking pictures of every little thing she saw.

“What! Last time I was here I didn’t even stay in the city, so I never got to sight see. Don’t roll your eyes!”

It was about 11:50 in the morning when she returned to her hotel room. She was supposed to do a Twitter Q&A with Coppertone at noon, so she sent out a quick tweet.

**@ChristenPress: I’ll be doing a live Q &A starting in 10 minutes! Send your questions to @CoppertoneUSA with #AskPress!**

  
She fired off the tweet, grabbed a bottle of water off the bedside table, picked up her laptop and plopped down onto her bed as she waited for a Coppertone rep to send her the account password.

Once she was in, she was hit with a constant flow of mentions with #AskPress. She saw questions ranging from that nights game, to the national team, and, as usual, plenty of marriage proposals. Of course there were tweets about her and Darron, but she decided ahead of time not to answer any of those.

She had gotten a few questions so far about playing against Alyssa Naeher and was answering them collectively when her phone buzzed.

**D: Well I’m certainly having fun with this.**

Christen stared at his text and knew instantly what he was talking about. With a grin plastered on her face she scrolled the mentions until she found them bunched together.

**@DarronLong: @CoppertoneUSA Have you made your mind up about where we’re getting dinner tonight? #AskPress**

**@DarronLong: @CoppertoneUSA If you get another dog do I get shared custody? #AskPress**

**@DarronLong: @CoppertoneUSA Can you send me my flight info for Chicago again? I deleted it by accident #AskPress**

**@DarronLong: @CoppertoneUSA What’s it like knowing I have better hair than you and spend less time on it? #AskPress**

The last one was the one that pushed Christen over the edge. She smirked confidently as she typed out a reply. And hey, the people wanted some Christen-Darron action, so who was she to deny them of that, right? 

**@CoppertoneUSA: I just bought hair clippers online. Sleep with one eye open @DarronLong >:) #AskPress**

He replied quickly.

**@DarronLong: ….Please don’t hurt my hair @CoppertoneUSA #AskPress #ItsMyMoneyMaker**

Christen laughed audibly at that, and apparently the rest of the Internet did to, because her mentions were now filled with responses to their banter rather than questions. It also didn’t take long for Darron’s other tweets that she didn’t answer to be dug up. It was an endless stream of screenshots of their tweets and things like “omg this relationship wants me dead”, “pls stop being so darn cute you two!” and other things of the like.

This seemed like a good place for Christen to end the nearly 15-minute Q&A, so she thanked everyone and logged off.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darron takes Christen out for a real first date in Boston.

The whistle sounded three times marking the end of Chicago’s game in Boston against what proved to be a stingy Breakers side. Christen had come on as a sub in the second half, and scored the game winning goal in the 90th minute to give Red Stars a 2—1 win. After a quick postgame catch up with Kristie Mewis and various other Breakers, it was time to sign autographs and take pictures; she definitely didn’t mind doing it after games, especially tonight seeing as she hadn’t played a full 90 minutes and wasn’t as tired as she normally was. 

Christen began making the rounds, starting at one end of the stands and slowly working her way around. She was nearly towards the end of the fan section when she heard an unmistakable voice.

“Oh my god, its Christen Press! I hope she can sign something for me!”

She looked up and to the right to see Darron with his hands over his cheeks in mock shock as JJ stood next to him laughing; they had apparently been catching up after she had finished ahead of Christen.  
She finished signing and made her way over to the duo.

“Do you ever stop being sarcastic or is this like a permanent ailment you have?” She quipped back as she settled next to JJ in front of her boyfriend. 

“What you call an ailment, I call charm.” He gave her a peck on the cheek.

“Alright I’ll leave you two lovebirds alone. Chris, bus leaves in 15.” JJ made her way towards the locker room as Christen focused back on Darron.

“Hey, you played a great game, even if you did end up beating a Boston team.”

“I don’t know, I probably could have finished a few chances earlier so it didn’t have to be a nail biter like it was.” She didn’t want to be critical of her own game, especially after a win, but she couldn’t help it sometimes.

“I literally judge people for a living babe. When I say you played a hell of a game, no matter how long you were in, then you played a hell of a game.”

Christen smiled as she met him for a hug. “Thanks. Still on for dinner?”

“Yep. I can get you from your hotel when you’re ready.”

“Perfect. I better make sure I don’t miss the bus then.”

They pecked on the lips quickly before Christen ran to the locker room to make sure the bus didn’t leave without her. She returned to her hotel room she was sharing with Abby Erceg, washed her hair, and got ready for her dinner date. Darron texted her that he was in the lobby and ready when she was, so she made her way down and found him sitting in the lounge area. They walked outside and made their way down the street.

“You never told me where we were going.” Christen said.

“That’s not how surprises work.” He apparently never took a break from being sarcastic, and Christen made a mental note to check WebMD to see if this was an actual disease.

It turned out to be a quick walk from the hotel, and Christen found herself staring up at a massive skyscraper, not unlike the ones that caught her gaze in Chicago.

“Welcome to the Prudential Center. I intentionally made sure we avoided this place on your mini tour the other day so you could see it all lit up.”

“This is amazing.” Then, she found the situation a bit odd. “Wait, so we’re eating in an office building?”

Darron chuckled knowingly. “Oh do you have so much to learn about this city.”

He led her into the main lobby of the Prudential and brought her to the elevators. The stepped into one and she watched as he punched a button with 52 on it. The highest number on the panel.

“We’re going…” Christen felt her eyes grow wider. She didn’t have a fear of heights, at least not too extreme, but 52 floors up seemed like more than she needed.

“ALL the way up.” Darron finished her sentence for her.

The doors opened after what seemed to be an eternity, and when they did, Christen was truly blown away.

Darron grabbed her hand and squeezed, looking her dead in the eye.

“Welcome to Top of the Hub.”

They stepped into the restaurant at the top of a massive building and towards a desk with a young woman standing at it. When she saw them she smiled and spoke in a friendly manner.

“Mr. Long, you made it. Mr. Rossi’s been waiting for you. You’re table is all set if you want to follow me.”

She led the pair to a table in the corner, set for two and complete with candles. The restaurant was fairly busy for a Wednesday night. Christen took her seat and looked out the window, still unable to fully pick her jaw up off the floor. She had a view unlike any other she had ever experienced. They were overlooking the water and the surrounding buildings on either side of it.

“That’s the Charles River. The side closest to us is the Back Bay neighborhood, where I live, and across the river is Cambridge, where the game was.”

“I can’t believe I didn’t even think to look around in the car to and from the field. How did I miss all of this?”

“Darron! How long’s it been?!” Christen looked away from the window to see a big man in a chef’s outfit making his way to their table with his arms stretched out.

“Like 8 hours G.” Darron stood up to give the man a hug, before turning towards Christen. “Christen, this is Giorgio Rossi, head chef here.”

“Please, call me G. It’s a pleasure and an honor to have a World Champion in this restaurant Ms. Press.” 

Christen shook the man’s hand and smiled. “Nice to meet you. This is incredible.”

G looked back to Darron, who had retaken his seat across from Christen. “You two look over your menus, someone will be over to take your drink orders. Just text me your food and I’ll have it out in no time. Enjoy!” With that, the chef took off for his kitchen.

“So how do you know him?” Christen asked.

“Went to high school together, teammates on the football team. He was a junior when I was a freshman, but we were close. We kept in touch a lot after he graduated.”

“Chefs, athletes, is there anyone you don’t have connections with here?” Christen asked mockingly.

A waiter came by to take their drink orders; they decided on a bottle of red wine to split. They looked through the menus before both settling on filet mignon, and Darron texted G in the kitchen. True to his word, the chef had the food out quick, but the way the steaks looked, you’d think he spent all day on them.

The two made small talk as they ate and drank, and before they knew it, their food and wine were both gone. They were waiting on the bill when G came back out to say goodbye.

Christen watched him go back to the kitchen. “You know, I thought you’d have some friends with the accent.”

“I grew up in the suburbs babe, not the actual city.”

“What? Then why do you say Boston is your hometown?”

“Everyone from Massachusetts does that. It’s a lot easier than having to describe how far away from Boston you actually grew up. I do have one buddy with the accent though. You might get to meet him if you want to stay out.”

“I think some of the girls went out. Do you want to meet up with them?”

“Sure. Text them to meet us at McGreevy’s on Boylston.”

Christen sent off a group text as Darron paid the bill. They got up and made their way back down to the street. After walking down Boylston Street, they made their way to a row of Irish bars; Lir, The Pour House, and McGreevy’s. Standing outside of McGreevy’s, Christen saw Karina, Julie and Abby waiting for them. 

“We can’t stay out too much longer, so let’s make this our last stop.” Julie said as the two approached the three Red Stars.

Darron led the group into the bar and they took a rounded booth in the corner. A waitress came over to take their drinks.

“Hey, can you tell Junior that Darron is here?” The waitress took their orders and the request to the bar. Before they knew it, a man who looked to be in his mid-30’s approached the table. He had a McGreevy’s t-shirt on with dark jeans and a Red Sox baseball hat on his head. 

“Dahrron buddy! Good ta see ya!” There was the Boston accent Christen was looking for.

“Junior, I got a Canadian, a New Zealander and two West Coasters all visiting from Chicago.”

“They fuckin’ lost? Bahahah! I’m kiddin’! Welcome to McGreevy’s ladies! How ah ya? Someone take ya drinks yet?”

“Yep. So this is Karina, Abby, Julie and Christen. They play soccer for the Chicago Red Stars in the women’s pro league.”

“Oh so they’ah the ones who took three points from the Breakahs earliah? Kristie and McCaffrey were in heah not too long ago talkin about it.”

“Yep these would be the ones. Christen here is the one who put the final nail in the coffin.”

The man turned towards Christen. “Ohhh, so this is the Christen you keep talkin about. Good to finally meet ya Christen.”

The waitress came back and was setting the drinks down, so Junior excused himself to go back to the bar.

“So, you hear enough of the accent yet?” Darron said playfully.

“That was amazing.” Christen replied.

“It’s like mine but different!” 

“That makes no sense Abby.” Karina said to the Kiwi.

Julie took that opportunity to tell the others it was almost time for curfew, since their flight to DC was the next morning.

Darron walked the group back to the hotel, and before Christen could follow her teammates to the elevators, grabbed her hand and spun her to face him. 

“So, on a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate that first real date?”

“Hmmm, it was better than a hungover coffee run, so I’d give it a solid 9.”

“I’ll take it.” Darron gave her a quick kiss and wrapped her in a big hug before releasing her.

“Now it’s a 10. Final score.” She smiled and made her way to the elevators while Darron watched her every step.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Top of the Hub and McGreevey's are both real and both amazing. the characters running them are not real though. 
> 
> And I tried to write the Boston accent to the best of my abilities, but it really is something you have to hear and not read.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Christen and Darron go to Lollapalooza, and she continues to learn about him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Shit's gonna get fluffy.

Following their short stay in Boston, the Red Stars made their way to Washington DC to play the Spirit a few days later. Christen and Darron were texting and FaceTiming daily when she returned to Chicago, mainly to plan for the upcoming weekend; they played Kansas City in Chicago on Saturday, August 1st, and Darron was flying in on Friday afternoon after training to stay at the apartment her and Julie shared for a weekend trip and catch their match with KC. This was planned since their dinner in Boston, but while in DC, Christen dropped more good news on him. Erceg had bought three tickets for the final day of Lollapalooza on the Sunday after their game, for herself, Christen and Julie, but the blonde defender was leaving after their game to visit her boyfriend in Philly, leaving an extra ticket. Darron told his editor he would writing his Monday column out of the office and changed his flight so he could go.

“I’ve never been considering I’m normally working during it. Am I required to dress like a hipster?” Darron had said when Christen told him their plans for Sunday.

Friday afternoon arrived and Christen was waiting at O’Hare for the 330 flight from Logan Airport in Boston to arrive. Finally, around 6 p.m., the board changed to tell her the plane had landed, and about 10 minutes later, Darron walked out of the tunnel, greeting her with a doofy grin.

“What are you all smiley about?” Christen asked after a quick kiss.

“Sat down in first class, no one said a thing and no one came to move me. That’s living on the edge. That’s bad boy life.”

Christen rolled her eyes playfully at that. “Alright ‘bad boy’, lets get your bag. Don’t wanna leave your leather jacket here. Dork.”

They made their way to baggage claim, grabbed Darron’s stuff and drove back to the apartment where Julie was already getting ingredients out for dinner.

“Oooh, good, you’re home. Chris I have the grill on the balcony ready for you.”

“JJ can’t grill chicken to save her life. Or anything for that matter.” Christen said while taking the chicken towards the back door that led to their balcony setup.

“Grilling isn’t my thing! I’m better at, like, stir fry and stuff!”

Darron followed the two outside and they all chatted while Christen cooked up the bird. They finished eating and watched some TV before calling it a night. Darron decided to stay up a little longer to finish watching the Cubs game that was on and told them he would just sleep on the couch so he wouldn’t wake them the night before a game day.

“I though you took the weekend off?” Christen asked, wondering why he wanted to stay up and watch baseball.

“I did. If I was on the clock I’d have my laptop out and I’d be writing. I can actually just enjoy the game now.”

“So on your days off from writing about sports, and talking about sports, and watching sports, you watch sports. You really do have a mental problem.” Christen stared at him as he intently followed the movement of the ball.

“Pretty much.” He answered without taking his eyes off the action on the screen.

“I’m gonna set you up for a CT scan.” With that, she went to bed.

The next morning JJ and Christen woke up to go about their normal routine. They showered and changed, ready for breakfast and a pregame walk before going about their individual routines and heading to the stadium at 530 for an 8 pm kickoff.

They walked into the living room to see the 6’4” former college football player curled up in a ball under a mass of blankets on the couch. Not wanting to wake him, Christen left a note to say where they went before leaving.

Darron awoke 15 minutes after the door shut and for a moment looked around, dazed at his surroundings, before remembering where he was. He got up and made his way to the kitchen table, where he found the note from Christen. After reading it, he looked at the clock. Almost 10 am. He decided he needed a shower to wash the plane off of him. He rummaged through his bag next to the couch and grabbed shampoo, conditioner, soap, and his toothbrush, as well as a pair of boxers, shorts and a t-shirt. He turned back around before remembering he had no idea where the shower was. He had used the small hallway bathroom the night before, but there was only a toilet and sink in there. He shrugged and made his way down a hallway where the bedrooms were. He passed one open door that revealed a room that must belong to Julie, considering there were pictures of her and Zach, as well as a Santa Clara blanket on the bed. He kept walking down the hallway to what he presumed was the master bedroom. How Christen somehow got that one before Julie he didn’t know, but he did find the bathroom and shower behind one of the doors in the large bedroom. After cleaning up and getting dressed, he made his way back out to the bedroom. He looked more closely around the room, taking in how it seemed to match his girlfriends supposed “simple girl” personality. It was relatively bare, save for framed pictures of family and friends. He also noticed a big book on the nightstand, and he wandered over to it, sitting down on the unmade bed with his back facing the entrance to the room.

Christen and Julie returned to their apartment to find the couch empty. While Julie made her way to the kitchen, Christen went to her room in search of Darron. She reached the doorway and found him huddled over her picture album. She smiled at the sight, before a thought went through her head. She made a sudden break toward the bed and jumped, flopping on the mattress, and startling her boyfriend in the process.

“You tell me I’M mean! Look in the mirror!” Christen rolled on her back in laughter while Darron brought his breathing back to normal.

“Well if you weren’t snooping around my room I wouldn’t have to scare you.” She smirked at him.

“I wasn’t snooping, I was taking in my surroundings, which included this.” He held up the photo album. “Did you do this yourself?”

“No, my mom put it together for me before I left for Stanford, and then added to it every time I had to leave home to play.“

“Mama Press sounds super sweet, just like a certain girl I know.” He gave her a peck on the cheek before they got up and continued their day.

After the game he met her down where she was signing autographs and taking pictures, and they went to dinner with JJ and Lori afterwards, before going back the apartment. Julie still had to pack for her flight to Philly in the morning, and Erceg was coming over at 10 a.m. for brunch before Lollapalooza.

The next morning they awoke to drive Julie to the airport and returned in time to let an early Kiwi in. Christen and Darron brushed their teeth before the trio went to a local spot for food.

“So who are we seeing perform?” Abby asked.

“I’m down for whatever.” Christen really had no preference, and was ready to just wander the park.

“The only acts I have to see are A$AP Rocky at 730 and Kygo at 9. Other than those, I’ll just follow you guys around.”

“A$AP Rocky and Kygo. That’s. Diverse,” Christen said before putting another forkful of pancake in her mouth.

“Good music is good music.” Darron shrugged. “So are you sure you don’t wanna go on a Xanax and sangria adventure right now?”

“Uh, no! I'm already breaking my own rule about heavy drinking during the season. I’m not adding any other substance to the equation!”

Darron looked at Abby and pointed his thumb over towards Christen. “What a fuckin’ square, huh?” Abby laughed while Christen glared playfully.

They finished up and stopped at a liquor store on the way home.

“It wouldn’t be Lolla without getting drunk.” Abby said as she picked out a bottle of rum. Darron grabbed a 12 pack of Coors Light, which earned snickers from the two girls.

“Hey, Coors Light is the best lingo beer out there.” He retorted.

“Ummm, what exactly does that mean?” They looked at him quizzically as he paid.

“I can walk into any bar and ask the bartender, ‘Are the mountains blue?’ If they say yes I tell them to get me a bucket of Supercolds. It’s like a secret language.” He smiled proudly at his explanation.

Christen just stared at him. “For real? You’re so weird.”

They went back to the apartment and pregame’d until about 2 pm. They had polished off the beer and made good progress on the rum before changing into their attire for the day. Christen went with a pair of dark shorts, boots, an orange shirt and a grey hat she had bought but hadn’t worn yet. Abby came out in jean shorts cut just above the knee, sneakers, and a graphic t-shirt with the sleeves cut off. Darron walked out to meet them wearing his USA Nikes, navy blue shorts, and a red Tom Brady jersey. He topped it off with his hair once again back in a bun and his sunglasses resting on top of his head. They made their way out to the street and hailed a cab to take them to Grant Park.

The three truly did just wander for much of the day, going wherever their ears took them; it was like what Darron had said earlier about good music being good music.

Before they knew it, it was 730, so they made their way over to the stage where A$AP Rocky was performing. Christen wasn’t the biggest rap fan, but she had to admit it was a good performance, and she got to see Darron rap along to the songs, which would definitely be used for blackmail later. After the set ended they made their way back to where Kygo would be playing. Kriegs and Alex were both fans of slow, chill music, so she had heard a few Kygo songs before, but Darron was apparently all about the DJ, telling her his shows were always amazing. There was a warning about possible severe weather, but the show went on. Christen was captivated by each song and how there was a new twist put onto tracks she had heard hundreds of times before. They danced and bobbed their hands and had a great time, partially due to the music and partially due to the alcohol.

Unfortunately, weather did cut the set short, and as the rain started to fall heavily, the three decided it would be best to make their way home. They dropped Abby at her place and continued to walk until they were through the doorway of Christen’s bedroom, before collapsing down into the bed.

“Hey, I’m gonna shower real quick. You mind?” Darron tuck his thumb over his back towards the bathroom.

“No, that’s fine. I’m gonna go after you though, so save some hot water.”

“Use all the hot water? If you say so.” He closed the door behind him before Christen could respond to his never-ending sarcasm.

Christen closed her eyes as she listened to the shower run. Soon after, the noise stopped. She heard the door open and opened her eyes to see Darron walking out of the bathroom toweling his hair off. He was also only wearing boxers and a pair of shorts, which wouldn’t normally be a big deal, other than the fact it was the first time he had been shirtless in front of her. She also noticed something she hadn’t seen before; on the front of his right shoulder, near the collarbone there was a tattoo of what appeared to be a Chinese character. There was also something written in ink on his right rib, going from just beneath his pec down to his waistband.

“I didn’t know you have tattoos.”

He threw the towel into the laundry basket at the foot of the bed and looked at her.

“Oh, yeah. Just two,” he said nonchalantly. He sat down on the bed next to her so she was on his right side, next to the ink. Christen examined the one on his shoulder first.

“What’s this mean?”

“It’s my family name in Cantonese, which is my family’s native dialect.”

“Oh. What’s the meaning behind it?”

“That’s a loaded one. Uhhh, I guess it’s no secret I’m half-Chinese. Well both my grandparents on my dad’s side have passed, my uncle’s in his 60’s, my dad’s 55 now. The Asian heritage is starting to die out in my family. I mean I was barely connected to it as a kid. So after my grandparents died, I decided I wanted to carry a piece of my family’s roots with me forever, so I got our name tattooed.”

“Aww, that’s sweet of you.”

Darron smiled at her. “Thanks. I actually set off a bit of a trend. My sister got it done on her wrist, and once my brother turns 18 he’s getting it done somewhere. I kinda want it to become a family thing. So my kids and their kids will get it done. And their kids after them. And so on.”

“That’s really cool. I love the meaning behind it.” Christen’s finger traced down his arm and to his side where the second tattoo was. She tilted her head to read it:

_Dear Lord the battles we go through life, we ask for a chance that’s fair. A chance to equal our strides, a chance to do or dare. If we should win, let it be by the code, Faith and Honor held high. And if we should lose, we’ll stand by the road, and cheer as the winners go by. Day by day, we get better and better. Until we can’t be beat. Won’t be beat._

She was thoroughly engaged in the script writing, which Darron noticed.

“It’s called the Husker Prayer.” She looked up at him. “We used to say it before every football game in high school, but you can apply it to life to. It’s sort of been my words to live by ever since I was a freshman.”

Christen looked back at the words with their newfound meaning. “It’s beautiful. The tattoo, the words, the meaning, everything.”

“You have any?” Christen snorted at that.

“Absolutely not. The whole process with the needles and permanence kind of freaks me out.”

Darron smiled gently at her. “When you find a reason, I feel like you will. You just need to find something worth having on you forever.”

They sat in silence for a few moments more before Christen excused herself to a shower. She washed the day away and emerged to find an empty room. She changed into gym shorts and a tank top before wandering out to the kitchen. The sliding door to the balcony was open and Darron was leaning on the edge with a beer in his hand. Christen could hear the music playing from his phone through the screen door.

“Couldn’t get enough?” She approached him from behind and put her arms around his bare midsection, somewhat amazed they made it all the way around. “What was the first song he did tonight? The one with Ed Sheeran in it? Play that?”

He walked to the table and picked up his phone, putting the song on before taking his turn to wrap her in a hug from behind. They stood there looking over the city and the lights while listening to the tropical beat and lyrics.

_If this is to end in fire, then we should all burn together. Watch the flames climb high into the night. Calling out father, oh, stand by and we will Watch the flames burn auburn on the mountainside._

Christen felt her heart beat in her chest. It was normal, not rapid or nervous, but she just felt it more than ever. Darron had his hand over it, adding to the reverberating effect.

_And if we should die tonight, we should all die together, Raise a glass of wine for the last time. Calling out father, oh, Prepare, as we will. Watch the flames burn auburn on the mountainside. Desolation comes upon the sky._

She could feel him mouthing the words into the back of her hair, which she found adorable. They were sort of swaying back and forth, and her eyes were closed, envisioning if his were to.

_Now I see fire. Inside the mountain. I see fire. Burning the trees. And I see fire. Hollowing souls. I see fire. Blood in the breeze. And I hope that you remember me._

She wasn’t seeing fire. She was feeling it. There was warmth throughout her body, oozing out of her pores. It was unlike anything she had ever felt. It could have been the buzz they both still had, but Christen decided not to think of it like that.

_Oh, should my people fall in, surely I'll do the same. Confined in mountain halls, we got too close to the flame. Calling out father, oh, hold fast and we will, watch the flames burn auburn on the mountainside._

He moved his head down to her shoulder and began planting little kisses on her neck and collar and shoulder before resting his head there, still keeping her in a tight wrap.

_Now I see fire. Inside the mountain. I see fire. Burning the trees. And I see fire. Hollowing souls. I see fire. Blood in the breeze. And I hope that you remember me._

Something about them had changed. Christen couldn’t quite explain it, but she knew. What they had had never felt more real, more raw, than it did now. She didn’t have the slightest clue where they would end up down the road, or even what the next morning would bring, but she knew in her gut that this could be it. The one. She normally hated clichés like that from romantic comedies, but there was no other way to explain it. There was a connection, a bond that only grew stronger as the learned each other’s layers. Seeing his tattoos and learning of their sentimental meaning and hearing him speak so openly and passionately about them only helped this. It was the same as her radio spot with him where she got lost in his words. The rare moments she saw a true fire in his eyes that seemed to completely contradict his usual laid-back, goofy attitude. 

Neither had noticed the song had been long over as they were caught up in the moment, but as they started to come back into focus, they looked at each other. Without saying anything, they seemed to have a mutual understanding. Darron grabbed his phone and beer bottle, throwing the latter in the recycling bin, and they made their way to Christen’s room. They got under the covers and snuggled up to each other. 

She slid into his arms easily as they put their heads down, his face once again buried in her hair. After about five minutes of sleepless silence, Christen turned over. She brought her lips to his and he reciprocated the act. They were locked together for roughly 20 seconds, but it felt like much longer. They stared into each other’s eyes one last time before she nestled her head into his chest and dozed off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I might have had a few Supercolds myself before/during writing parts of this, but I didn't want to go back and change anything, so you have my buzzed thoughts at some points.
> 
> Also, this is the song in question: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWYp1xRPH5g


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Christen has a wedding to attend soon.

Christen slowly started to come to, knowing it was morning without opening her eyes. She felt a warm mass pressed against her, and felt fingers running through her hair. She felt at peace, and when the fingers stopped and moved away from her head, she dug her own arm out from under her, found Darron’s wrist, and plopped his hand back onto her head, silently urging him to continue, which he did.

She opened her eyes and looked up to see Darron looking down at her, the sunlight coming in from the window and shining on them.

“Morning.”

“Morning.”

They sat in silence after that exchange before Christen spoke.

“What do you want to do today?”

“This. But my flight leaves at 4, so if you had anything in mind, its gotta be before then.” He spoke gently into her hair.

“We can go for a walk and lunch if you’re up to it.”

“That sounds nice.”

“We can get up in 5 minutes.” Christen closed her eyes again. She thought back to the previous night and how amazing it had been. “Did you realize last night was the first time we ever, like, actually kissed for more than a second?”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, it’s definitely something I could get used to.” She felt his hand under her chin moving her head before his lips were on hers. They opened their mouths and took it all in.

They finally separated when Christens phone rang. She got up out of bed to answer a call from US Soccer about details for flights and training leading up to their first victory tour match in Pittsburgh on the 16th, walking out to the balcony and closing the door behind her.

She finished her call and walked back into the house to find Darron going through the fridge.

“You know this isn’t your house, right?”

“Hm, I was wondering why all my clothes were in a suitcase and yours were in the closet.”

“Again with the sarcasm,” Christen said looking at the clock, which read 10 AM. “I’m going to meditate and then we can just sorta walk around until we find somewhere to eat lunch. Then we can chill here or whatever until you have to get to the airport.”

“Good with me.” He pulled out a box of Lucky Charms from the cabinet and grabbed a bowl, spoon and milk.

“Whoa, dude! Do not finish off that cereal! It’s mine!”

“You’re a pro athlete, you don’t need this,” he smiled slyly. “Go meditate.”

*********************

They had walked around the city for a little before settling on a small place Christen had been to with Julie before. They had gotten to the end of their meal and were ready to leave when she got a text from her older sister.

**Tyler Press: Hey sis, going through final guest list and realized you didn’t put down a +1. Spot is paid for so if you can find one its no trouble! Bring your new boy toy, mom and dad wanna meet him! ;)**

Christen hadn’t even thought about that. She new that in a little under a month she would be flying home for her sisters wedding. Throughout the planning process she had been so wrapped up in World Cup preparation that she hadn’t thought about a plus-one, or anything about the day to be honest. She ran the idea through her head over and over as she walked hand in hand with her boyfriend back to the apartment.

After returning back she sat on her L-shaped couch with her feet out in front of her, only to have Darron plop down in between her legs, resting the back of his head on her stomach. Might as well do it now, she thought.

“So, in case you didn’t know my sisters wedding is next month,” He didn’t say anything so she went on. “And I sort of never found a plus-one,” he looked back to her now. “So do you wanna be my date?”  
“Of course. I’ll get those days off once I get home.” Christen smiled at him, but it quickly turned into an eye roll. “Only question I have is will there be Super Colds?”

“I’m going to make sure there aren’t any, even if I have to hide them.”

“Your loss. It isn’t a celebration if the mountains aren’t blue babe.” He turned forward so his head was once again propped on her stomach.

Christen ran her fingers through his hair, marveling at just how thick it truly was, when another idea ran through her head.

“I’m gonna braid your hair.”

“Excuse me, you’re going to what? I can’t fly home with my hair braided.”

“Then you can take them out before you leave,” she said, grabbing hold of his mane. “Besides, I already started.”

In 5 minutes Christen had expertly braided Darron’s hair down the middle before putting it in a bun. It looked like something Kriegs would wear if she were being honest.

“Oh my god, I have to take a picture.” She pulled out her phone and documented her masterpiece before sending out a tweet.

**@ChristenPress: I gave him the @alikrieger. One of the gals now XD**

She should have known her phone would blow up after that. Her teammates were loving it to, Krieger especially.

**@AliKrieger: @ChristenPress OMG! Not on #PonySlay level tho! XP**

“I cant believe you tweeted that.” He was scrolling through his phone as well. “I gotta say it actually doesn’t look too bad. I might steal this look from you.”

**@ChristenPress: “I might steal this look from you.” I’ve created a monster. @DarronLong**

“Alright, alright, just stop tweeting. And put my hair back, we have to get to the airport.”


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wedding weekend starts with a snag.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short one while I work on the next few.

“Are you boarding?”

“About to. What’s up?”

It was 7 AM in Detroit Friday morning after the teams 3rd Victory Tour game, a 5-0 win over Haiti. Christen had become the 22nd player in USWNT history to score 25 goals for the squad, and now she was sitting in her airport terminal waiting for her flight to LA for her sisters wedding weekend. There was one slight problem though.

“So my flight is delayed.”

“What? What do you mean its delayed?” Christen had never heard this kind of panic out of Darron before. She even thought it was a little bit cute.

“Do I have to spell it out for you? My flight is delayed 2 hours.”

“Yeah I understand the concept of delayed flights but we planned our times so you got in just before me. Now I’m gonna get there before you.”

“It’s fine. Really. You don’t even have to wait for me at the airport. I’ll text you the hotel address and you can take a cab over and settle in.”

“You want me to go to the hotel we’re staying at. For your sisters wedding. Where your family is. Alone. Do you want me to split an atom to?”

“Stop being over dramatic. You’ll be fine.”

“Whatever you say. I’m getting on so I have to go. I’ll call when I land.”

Christen texted him the address of the hotel and then texted her younger sister.

**C: Flight delayed 2 hours. Boyfriend en route, 6 hours to land. He’s a little nervous to go in alone, so tell dad to take it easy ;)**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What I have written and yet to post follows the timeline we're on, but I have ideas to move it past present day. If you think I should just follow in a current events style I'll do that and hit anything significant.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darron meets the family.

Darron got out of his cab, grabbed his bag, paid his fare, and looked at the hotel.

He took a deep breath before muttering to himself, “Here goes nothing,” and walking into the lobby.

He walked up to the front desk where there were 3 people working, as well as a few guests mingling around and talking.

“Hi, I’m here for the wedding? Room is under Christen Press.”

“Did you say Christen Press?” Darron turned to his right to see a woman who looked a lot like his girlfriend staring at him.

“Uh, yeah.”

“Oh my god! You’re Darron, aren’t you?” She made her way over to him as the clerk gave him a room key.

“That would be me, yes.”

“I’m Christens younger sister. Finally we get to meet!” They shook hands as Darron put his key in his pocket.

“I can’t believe I missed you at the World Cup after party. How long were you guys there?”

“Not too long. We were up on the second level, so that may be why we didn’t get to meet. The whole family is excited to meet you.”

They made their way up to the room Darron and Christen would be sharing, and after unlocking the door, he dropped his bag on the floor.

“So were you waiting for me down there, or was that a coincidence.”

Channing shrugged. “She texted me what the situation was.”

“Right, so what’s the schedule for the rest of the day?”

“Later tonight there’s the rehearsal, but you don’t really have to worry about that. Other than that you can just sort of chill out. The family is out shopping right now, but they’ll be back in like 10 minutes.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, do you have any read on what your parents think of me?”

Channing laughed. “Oh don’t worry. Dad’ll do the dad thing where hes tough at first but based on what Christen has told us I think they’ll take to you easily. We can go wait in the lobby for them. C’mon.”

Darron wasn’t sure he wanted to do that, but followed her anyway.

They had been sitting in the lobby making small talk for about five minutes, mainly about the wedding, when a group of people walked in. A woman and a man, the bride and groom he presumed, followed by two older looking people. Mama and Papa Press.

“Hey guys!” Channing motioned them over. Darron swallowed and took a deep breath as he stood.

The younger sister got up and gave each of the four a quick hug. Papa Press was last, and that’s when he seemed to finally notice Darron.

“Who do we have here?” Darron took that as his cue.

He walked over and stuck out his hand. The older man met him and they shook.

“Darron Long sir. Nice to finally meet you.”

“Ah, you’re my middle daughters new friend, huh?”

“Yes sir.” Darron felt the man looking him directly in the eyes, as if scanning his soul for impurities.

“Well Darron, its nice to meet you as well. This is my wife, my daughter, and her fiancée.” Darron shook hands with each of them. He turned to the soon to be newly weds.

“Feels a little weird to be saying ‘nice to meet you’ and ‘congratulations on the wedding’ at the same time, but congratulations. And thank you for having me with you on your special day.”

The oldest Press sister waved her hand. “Thank you! And please, it’s nothing. Chris didn’t have a guest and then you come along and make her all happy. Of course you’re welcome.”

As if on cue, Christen walked in with her suitcase.

“Oh jeez, I said to make it easy, not have the family swarm him.”

She walked over and gave her each member of her family a hug before turning to Darron. He bent down slightly to hug her and give her a quick kiss on the cheek before they turned attention back to the others.

“So I assume you’ve met the family. Help me unpack?”

She led him up to their room and dropped her suitcase on the floor next to his.

“So was it bad?” She plopped down on the bed.

“Aside from your dad staring directly into my soul, not too painful. Whatever you’ve been telling them is working.”

“See! What did I tell you?”

“I should listen to you more.” With that he gave her a kiss. It wasn’t even 1 pm yet, meaning they had time to kill. They flipped on the TV and scrolled through the guide before deciding on the last half of Lilo & Stitch. After the movie ended they decided to walk around downtown LA for a bit. Christen wasn’t looking for anything in particular, but she sensed Darron had an agenda.

“Where exactly are we going?”

“I’m thinking of getting another tattoo.”

“Today? Now? Darron my sister’s wedding rehearsal is in like 3 hours.”

“It’ll take an hour and a half, tops.”

He stopped them in front of a tattoo parlor.

“You can go back and I’ll meet up with you later at the room if you want.”

Christen sighed. “No its fine. I kinda wanna see it happen to be honest.”

He smiled at her and led her in. She checked out all the artwork and designs on the walls while he spoke with the tattoo artist. Finally, it was time and Christen took a seat next to where Darron was laying down.

“What are you getting? And where? Because if its like on your throat there may be an issue when we get back.”

He laughed while simultaneously lifting his right arm out of his shirt and laying it out across a table next to him.

“Relax. I can’t tell you yet, though. You have to wait for it to be done.”

The tattoo artist came back and took his seat with his equipment laid out next to him. After prepping the area he picked up the needle.

“Ready?” Darron nodded and the artist brought the machine to the skin.

Christen wasn’t prepared for the tremendous yell that came out of Darron’s mouth, and she covered her own in fear as she looked at the sight of sheer pain on his face.

“STOP! STOP!” She begged the artist to cease. But as she did, Darron’s face turned into pure laughter.

“Oh my god! You jerk! I thought it was really hurting you! Were you in on this?!” She pointed at the artist, who shrugged.

“I told him it wasn’t a smart idea, but he’s giving me money so I can’t really say no.”

“Babe, please don’t be mad. C’mon, hold my hand.” Christen knew she couldn’t stay mad, if she was even truly mad in the first place. She walked back to the seat to his left and grabbed his hand as the machine started again.

After about an hour it was done. She had held his hand the entire time, maybe more for her own comfort than for his. They got up, and Darron took the aftercare supplies before paying.

They walked outside and back towards the hotel. Christen still hadn’t seen what he’d gotten done. They walked back to their room to change when she caught her first glimpse. It wasn’t too big, but it was a word spelled out in script lettering.

**‘OHANA**

“’Ohana?” She wasn’t quite sure what sparked this.

“Yeah, don’t you remember? It’s from Lilo & Stitch. We just watched it.” She stayed silent trying to recall, so Darron started it off for her.

“’Ohana means family. Family means…” It dawned on her and she finished the sentence.

“Nobody gets left behind or forgotten. Did you get that just because we watched that movie?”

“It helped. I already have my last name in Cantonese on me, but I wanted a little more. Since my dad lived in Hawaii, it’s a word I’ve heard a lot. So when I heard that in the movie something just clicked for whatever reason.”

“So why the bicep?” Christen knew him well enough now to know that the location was important for some reason

“‘Ohana is family, so there’s strength in family. You and you’re family are a good example of that I think. There’s such a bond with you guys, and so much support. There’s strength.”

Christen couldn’t believe how much depth there was with him. He was so much more than the journalist she met in a locker room in Canada all those moths ago. And he was more than the goofy guy she had gotten to know since then.

“Holy shit, that’s amazing. I think they’ll love it. You have to show them after dinner.”

“That’s on you. I don’t wanna just walk up to your dad and start showing him tattoos all over my body.”

“Alright, I’ll take the lead, you baby.”

They finished dressing and made their way down to the lobby, where everyone was meeting before heading over to the venue of the rehearsal.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Post-rehearsal. Ink is shown and conversations are had.

The group returned to the hotel after the rehearsal and was now saddled up at the bar, an anxious air over them as the big day drew near. Darron had actually been making small talk everyone and was fitting in nicely. Pretty soon, it was just him, her dad, Channing, and herself left. She wasn’t sure if it was the few drinks she had in her, but she decided it was a good moment to bring up her boyfriends new tattoo to her family, who he had met earlier that morning.

“Daddy, Darron got a new tattoo this afternoon. Like right before the rehearsal.”

Darron looked at her a little wide-eyed. “Well when you say it like that it sounds like not the smartest thing.”

“Show us! C’mon, I wanna see it again.” 

Darron looked at Papa Press and just shrugged and exhaled before unbuttoning his dress shirt.

“’Ohana? You’re gonna need to explain that to me.” 

Christen stood next to Channing and watched her boyfriend explain the meaning of his tattoo to her father and sister. 

“You seemed to put some real thought into it. And Christen said ‘new’? Let’s see the others.”

Darron shot her a look as if to say, “What did you get me into?” before rolling the sleeve of his under shirt past his shoulder to reveal the Chinese character and explaining that. Then, with Christen egging him on, he reluctantly lifted his shirt to reveal the letters that went down the front off his ribcage.

“Which of those hurt the worst?” Papa Press was thoroughly intrigued in the ink.

“Without a doubt the ribs. It took two days to, so double the pain.”

“I’m thinking of getting a tattoo myself you know. Mama Press ain’t too keen on it though. She says at my age it’s basically admitting to a mid-life crisis.”

Christen couldn’t believe how easy the two got along after knowing each other for mere hours. You’d think they had known each other for 15 years. She was snapped out of her train of thought by a yawn and realized how tired she was.

“I’m gonna go to bed. You coming?”

Darron held up his half empty glass. “I’ll be up after I finish this.”

Christen gave him a quick kiss before making her way up to her floor with her sister.

Darron watched her go before turning back to his drink. He almost forgot a certain father was still sitting next to him until he spoke again. 

“Boy, am I getting old. My oldest daughter, getting married tomorrow.”

Darron turned his head to face the older man.

“How does it feel?”

“It’s a lot of different emotions that I won’t bore you with, but I know how happy she is, so I’m ecstatic to say the least.”

Darron stayed silent and looked back at the drink in his hands.

“So, you and my middle daughter. How are things? Man to man.”

Darron sighed. “She’s amazing. One of the best, most beautiful people I’ve ever met.”

“Where’s it heading? You gonna marry her?” Darron’s head snapped up as he met Papa Press eye to eye. He was bewildered at the words that came out of the older mans mouth.   
“Son, you can tell me. I know you’re young.”

Darron swallowed hard. “I... I’d be lying if I said I haven’t thought about it. I would love to spend the rest of my life with her.”

“But…” It was amazing the older man knew there was a “but” coming.

“But the travel and distance would make it so hard. I’m not too sure how we’ve made it work so far to be honest. I’m based in Boston year round, she lives in Chicago during the season and is always travelling for those games or for national team stuff, and when she’s not she lives with you guys in LA. We barely get to see each other as it is, and once football season rolls around, my work starts picking up. I just… I’m not really sure.” Darron had gotten it all off his chest and looked at the only male in the Press clan, at least until the wedding tomorrow.

The patriarch of the clan looked at Darron, then back at the bartop, and finally back at Darron before getting up, finishing his drink and putting a hand on Darron’s shoulder.

“You’ll figure it out. But speaking as her father now, just treat her right. Understand?”

“Yes, sir.” He patted the journalist on the shoulder and made his way to the elevators, leaving Darron to contemplate what he just said. He finished his drink and made his way up to the room.  
*************  
Christen had gotten back to the room and changed before getting under the covers. She was tired but couldn’t quite make it past the point of no return; she kept thinking about how exciting the next day would be with her sisters wedding.

It had been almost 10 minutes since she returned when she heard the lock sound and the door open. She heard the bathroom light flick on and saw light hit the wall ahead of her as she faced away from the entrance and towards the window. The light turned off and she heard clothes being tossed onto furniture before the covers were lifted partially and a warm mass sidled up next to her. An arm worked its way under her head while another one wrapped over the top of her, and even in the darkness she could make out the Chinese character on the forearm in front of her face. 

The forward felt a kiss being placed on her shoulder before the head moved back up and nestled into her hair. As the breathing behind her became slower and steadier, so did hers. She was asleep not long after.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Didn't even realize it's been like 2 weeks since my last update, even though I have updates already written and ready to go. My bad, I've been swamped with work.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wedding reception time. But things never quite go according to plan.

Her sisters wedding was amazing. The venue was amazing, the decorations perfect, and weather beautiful. Christen had gotten up early to go through bridesmaid procedure, leaving a still sleeping Darron a text about the rest of the day; where he should be and when, start times for everything, etc. She walked down the aisle and saw him sitting to the left in the middle of a sea of people, chatting up those around him. When she finally got to the altar, and faced the crowd, they met eyes and he gave her a smile and thumbs up. Then the ceremony started, and as everyone stood, it was impossible to miss him and his tied back hair above the rest of the heads. It was quite the contrast to see, especially among some of the balding gentlemen among him.

And of course the ceremony was fantastic. There were tears of joy, some laughter, and of course never-ending smiles from all in attendance.

When the newlyweds walked back down the aisle, it was time to party. And the Press Pack knew how to have a good time. It was only about 630 PM, giving everyone plenty of time to let loose. Christen introduced Darron to old friends and extended family, and of course he was a hit. It was kind of amazing, especially when she thought about how awkward she could sometimes be when meeting new people, although she never had too much trouble with fans. They were a different breed. It was one thing to be recognized for her profession, but another to be introduced as just “my friend Christen”.

About 730, Darron’s phone started going off nonstop. He ignored it at first, but eventually had to excuse himself and made his way to a quieter area near the back of the venue. When he was gone for over 10 minutes, Christen decided to go check on him, just to be sure everything was all right.

Darron walked toward the back of the party, away form the noise, and pulled out his cellphone. He had 3 missed calls and 5 text messages from his editor to call him back ASAP. He unlocked the screen and dialed.

“Jack, what’s going on? Everything good?”

“Darron, they want you back here tomorrow morning.” His heart sunk hearing that.

“What do you mean? You gave me the weekend. The big guys gave the OK.”

“I know, I know. It wasn’t my call. We just had a meeting and the heads decided they needed you here for the game tomorrow. Be glad you’ll be in Boston and not Buffalo.”

“They can’t just give me the weekend off and then pull me back. I’m at a fucking wedding for God’s sake! Why can’t I just write from here? I don’t have to be in Boston to write my reaction from the game.”

“They want you at Gillette when the team gets back. You know the players love you. They give you the best quotes out there.”

Darron exhaled deeply. “For fucks sake.”

“I’m sorry man. I tried to persuade them. I really did. But they cut the checks so my hands are tied. On the bright side, they’re paying for your flight.”

“And what time is this flight?”

“1235, so under 5 hours.”

“Shoot me.”

“I know Darron. I’ll see you in the office tomorrow morning.”

Darron hung up, shoved his phone back in his pockets and rubbed his hands over his face. How was he supposed to tell Christen he would have to leave her sisters wedding reception in 5 hours?  
***************

Christen walked back to where Darron had gone, and saw him on the phone. What she heard dampened her mood.

“They can’t just give me the weekend off and then pull me back. I’m at a fucking wedding for God’s sake! Why can’t I just write from here? I don’t have to be in Boston to write my reaction from the game.”

“And what time is this flight?”

"Shoot me."

She stood there as Darron out his phone in his pocket, rubbed his face and slowly turned around. When he saw her he stopped dead in his tracks.

“How much did you hear?”

“Enough to know you’re leaving.”

“Fuck, Christen I’m so sorry.”

“You don’t have to be sorry. I get it. You have a job to do. It’ll suck you won’t be here, but we have what, 5 hours? Let’s make the most of it.” She watched the smile grow on his face as she finished. He walked over and wrapped her in one of his signature big hugs, kissing the top of her head.

“God I love you. You’re the best, you know that?” Christens heart skipped a beat. The L-word. She wasn’t quite sure she heard right.

“What’d you say?” She looked up at him, and locked her eyes with his.

“I love you.”

“I love you to.”

They stood still wrapped in each other’s arms until Christen broke the silence.

“C’mon, we have limited time together. And maybe if I get you drunk enough they wont let you on the plane,” she said with a devilish grin.

“I’m not opposed to that idea, but you are 100% taking the fall.”

They made their way out to the main party area and proceeded to have a great time drinking, dancing, drinking, mingling, and drinking. The DJ switched up the pace and put on a slow song, so Darron stuck out his hand inviting Christen to the dance floor.  
They started moving in sync, listening to the relaxed rhythm. Darron leaned down a little to whisper in Christens ear at one point.

“I’ll cut my hair before our wedding if you want. Can’t let my locks overshadow the brides hairdo.”

She laughed at that and playfully poked his chest, but a few moments later what he said really sunk in.

_I’ll cut my hair before our wedding. OUR wedding._

Holy shit, she thought to herself. Her head was going a million miles an hour. Was he being serious? There’s no way, right? He’s 24, he can’t be thinking about marriage now.

She decided not to bring it up the rest of the night in case it was truly nothing, and for the most part, was able to push the thought out of her head for the remainder of the reception. Of course, Christen was not present when her boyfriend told her father the night before his desire to one day put a ring on the striker’s finger.

Unfortunately, it was getting to be quitting time for Darron. He had a flight in one hour and still had to go to the hotel and get his bag. The two walked over to where most of the Press clan was standing to announce Darron’s exit. Christen was delighted to hear the groans come from her family, begging him to stay for a little while longer.

“If its worth anything, I’d much rather be here. Thank you all for having me,” he turned to the new Mr. and Mrs. “And thank you both for letting someone you had never met share this special day with you. I’m truly grateful. Congratualtions.”

He went around giving hugs and stopped at Papa Press. They shook hands before Darron spoke.

“You’ve got an amazing family here. Thank you for letting me be a part of it for a little bit. We’ll talk soon.”

“You bet. I’ll let you know if I need backup on that whole tattoo thing.”

Mama Press whipped her head towards her husband. “Excuse me, WHAT tattoo thing?”

Everyone laughed, well except for one person who was still staring at her husband and slapping his arm looking for an answer to her question, and Darron and Christen saw it as a good time to head for the exit. She would be back, but wanted to go with him to get his bag. Luckily most of his stuff was already in the suitcase. They got a cab outside of the hotel and went back to the wedding venue to drop Christen off. They got out and walked to the entrance.

“I’m gonna miss you at brunch tomorrow.”

“Do you really have to go to brunch with him?”

Christen pouted a little. “He’s been my ex for like 8 years. It’s not just us either, we have other friends.”

Darron scratched the back of his head before exhaling. “I know, I just don’t like it.”

“What, you don’t trust me?” She was starting to feel a little hurt by this exchange, at least until a grin started on his face.

“I trust you with my life. I’m just jealous I can’t be there,” Christen felt herself smiling now to. “I’m really cutting it close now, so give me a kiss.”

He was gone soon after.

*******************  
Christen woke up the next morning in the hotel room and felt a noticeable absence of heat that she had grown so fond of being next to her. But on she went.

Brunch was fun, of course. Any time she got to spend with old friends she truly cherished; it was few and far between.

And, of course, her Instagram post from that morning set the Internet on fire. She was even amused by the number of comments wondering if her and Darron were done. If only they knew what had been said the night before…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well that's the last of what I had pre-written, so I need to get back to writing new stuff. If only I could make all my school work disappear...


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Christen gets some down time and Darron takes a flight.

With her sisters wedding weekend complete, Christen was looking forward to spending time at home with her family and training on her own schedule. There was a certain sense of peace that came with coming home, whether for a few days or a few months. That sense of familiarity and control. She just wished Darron could be with her. Since he had been abruptly whisked away a few days ago, he had been all work, which was odd. His Twitter account was certainly lively, spewing stats and quotes and other info pertaining to the Patriots win in Buffalo all through Sunday and Monday, and the rest of the week previewing the Jacksonville Jaguars. But trying to reach Darron the boyfriend instead of Darron the journalist was a different story. He was always writing, or doing a radio spot, or a TV spot, or talking to players or coaches or management. She had only ever seen his professional side come out back in June and July in Canada, but now the actual team he covers was in season. 

Christen took solace in knowing that on the other side of the weekend, after that next game ended on Sunday, after the last of the stories was filed, he would be on a plane to California to spend a whole week with her.  
*********  
Darron sent the last of his stories to his editor, making note of what order to publish and when, before closing his laptop and putting in the backpack on the ground next to him. He was sitting in the press area within Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts, where the Patriots had just beaten the Jaguars 51-17. He normally liked closer contests; it made for more interesting postgame pressers and stories. But today, he was glad for the blowout. He said his goodbyes to the other writers still working and walked out to his car. Driving back into Boston would be an ordeal if there was any leftover traffic, and he wanted to get to his apartment as soon as possible so he could pack. It would be an early day tomorrow, and he wanted as much sleep as he could fit into the tight schedule he was running on.  
******  
He actually enjoyed flights and travelling. Whenever his bosses gave him the option to travel for games or stay in Boston, he almost always chose to go. But he always hated early mornings, so when the alarm went off at 430 in the morning for him to go to the airport, he willed it to silence itself. Alas, his phone did not share the same sentiments, so he rolled over to grab it, unsure if he was about to silence it or actually get up. He hit the lock button and the glare form the screen instantly blinded him, causing his head to involuntarily snap away from the brightness. But of course the grumpiness melted away when he looked back at his phone. At the lock screen picture. At those green eyes (They’re green right? he thought to himself. It’s too early to do this again, so yeah we’ll roll with green.) . 

He sighed, almost laughing at the same time, before speaking out loud and to the darkness that surrounded him and his phone. “What I’d do for you.”

After rolling out of bed and getting dressed, he called a cab to take him to the airport.  
*******  
He walked through the terminal a little groggy. He had slept nearly the entire flight to make up for his early wakeup and was still feeling it as he mad his way through LAX. And then he saw the camera. And then the camera saw him. And then the camera started moving towards him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short one. Working on it...


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darron appears on TMZ

Christen waited in her car outside the arrivals gate, where her boyfriend should be any minute now. She had offered to pick him up so he wouldn’t have to pay for a cab. She wasn’t a morning person either, yet somehow always seemed to will herself awake around sunrise or just after most days. Finally, she saw the familiar combination of t-shirt, shorts, sneakers, and hair tied back that all took up residence on the big frame of one Darron Long. She got out and waved him over, opening the trunk for his bag. He tossed it in and closed the trunk before sliding into the passenger seat, removing his sunglasses.

“Hi.”

“I just woke up at 430 eastern time and flew 5 hours to be with you, and all you can say is hi? Do I have to go look for return flights?” Of course he had a smirk on his face.

“You just said the implied incentive. Quality time with me!” Christen wasn’t sure if she should be proud of this comeback or worried his ways were starting to rub off on her.

“Ugh, you got me there.” He leaned over the center console to give her a kiss before she pulled away and started the journey home.

Half an hour later, they were pulling into the driveway of the Press house. They grabbed his bag from the trunk and made their way inside.

It was quiet as they walked in through the doorway, but as they rounded a corner towards the living room, there were barks, a clattering noise on the hardwood, and two brown blurs flew towards them.

“Ohhhh, hello my babies!” Christen went into automatic baby voice as her dogs halted in front of her. They then noticed Darron standing behind and went to investigate him. 

“The world famous dogs.” He sat down on the floor as they licked his face and jumped on him. 

“Great, they already love you. Unbelievable! What sort of evil magic did you cast on them?”

“Hey, it’s called chemistry. I have it with everybody.” Christen rolled her eyes as Darron continued to play with the dogs on the floor.

Eventually he got up and they brought his bag upstairs. 

“This is much more you,” he said eyeing her room. “At least compared to Chicago.”

“Well peel your eyes away, the dogs need to go for a walk.”

“You’re already making me take the dogs on a walk? Really hitting fast forward on this whole relationship thing, huh?”

“Oh shut up. I’m coming with you, you dork.”

They walked downstairs to find her mom, who apparently just got home, at the kitchen counter going through the mail.

“Hi mom.”

“Hi hun,” she gave her daughter a hug before switching her focus to Darron. “And how are you? How was the flight?” He bent down to give her a hug.

“Early. Long. But I’m in one piece so I cant complain.”

“Well, you can rest up before dinner.”

“Mom, we’re gonna take Mo and Khaleesi on a quick walk.”

“Oh, goodness Christen, he just sat on a plane for hours, let him rest a little.”

Darron laughed. “It’s fine. Gotta show champ here I can hang with the best of ‘em.”

“Well, dinner will be ready in an hour or so.”

With that, they departed. They hopped in the car with the dogs and made the short drive, the lighthouse coming into view on their right after about 5 minutes. It was one of her favorite places to come with the dogs, or meditate, or just sit and watch the water and clear her mind. And now she was sharing her special place with the special someone currently at her side.

“I get why you never wanted to leave.” She looked up to see him staring out to the ocean. Everything was at peace. The water. The air. The silence. The dogs. Her. Him. Everything. 

Finally, the dogs seemed to have had their fill and they turned to go home. Walking through the door was much more lively this time around. Everyone was home, music was playing, and the stove was going.

They greeted her dad and younger sister as they entered the kitchen before everyone sat down to eat. There were lively discussions between everyone on all topics. Of course they asked how Darron’s trip was, but that soon turned to Mr. Press asking him about that weekend’s NFL games, and that turned into multiple other conversations.

After dinner the family gathered in the living room to watch the end of Monday Night Football. Or rather watch Monday Night Football and listen to Darron and Papa Press have an entertaining back and forth about the game on the screen.

One by one members of the Press Pack made their way upstairs for bed, before it was just Christen, with Darron laying down between her legs and his head resting on her stomach. It had turned into their signature position while lounging around, and Christen found she actually enjoyed being in a big spoon type of position, playing with his hair as much as she could. 

The game had ended a little while ago, and Darron had fallen asleep, his chest slowly rising and falling with each breath he took. Christen found it adorable how peaceful he looked. She channel surfed aimlessly before settling on TMZ, because she was human and could rot her brain a little if she wanted to dammit. She hardly paid attention either, opting to use it as background noise while scrolling through her phone. She was starting to feel a little tired as well, and was trying to decide of she should wake the beast nestled into her body when something caught her attention on the TV.

“We have Darron Long at LAX, who writes for ESPN and does TV and radio and stuff. And he was dating Christen Press the soccer player.”

She looked up to see the TMZ newsroom and one guy talking before it cut to a woman.

“Was or is? Cause no one seems to know what’s up with them.”

“He answers that.”

The screen then cut to a shot of LAX, and Darron walking in the same attire she had picked him up in.

“Darron my man, how’s it hanging?” As the camera met Darron halfway, he took the sunglasses off his face and put them in his head.

“Good, good. Yourself?”

“Doing good. So what brings you to LA, especially since the Pats just played less than 24 hours ago?”

“Bye week, so just hanging out.”

“Are you visiting Christen Press? There’s been a lot of talk on the internet that you two broke up since she posted a picture on Instagram of her and another guy.”

“I might be,” he was grinning so hard. “Yeah you know I saw all that stuff but no one really put two and two together and realized I was in Boston covering a football game at that time.”

“So you two are still dating?”

“I sure hope so. Otherwise I’m here for nothing.” He laughed a little at his own joke, which made Christen laugh to.

“Right on. So what’s it like dating not just a pro athlete, but a world champion?” This definitely piqued her interest. 

“It’s awesome. She’s the best. It sucks we’re based on two different coasts, but we make it work somehow. Thank god for FaceTime.” He seemed to be done, but Christen noticed that familiar look on his face. The wheels in his head were turning.

“For real, she’s awesome. Beautiful with the most infectious smile I’ve ever come across, I catch myself staring just sort of in awe sometimes. And I obviously want to give her everything but she’s a go-getter and wouldn’t accept being handed everything. She wants to earn it all. And I look up to her just like all the soccer fans out there because you just look at her story and its incredible and inspiring. She’s definitely one of the best things to ever happen to me.”

“Alright thanks man, have fun out here.” Darron put his sunglasses back on before walking away, and the camera cut back to the TMZ room, where a woman spoke.

“Oh my god, they’re too cute. They are literal relationship goals.” 

Another man spoke up next. “Jeez, I need to find myself a World Cup Champ or something.”

More people kept talking about that clip of Darron, but Christen barely heard anything. She watched the real thing breath deeply, slowly, while laying on her as she ran her fingers through his hair. There wasn’t much else to do. She took it all in; what he just told the whole world on television and that passionate fire in his eyes while he did it. He was full of surprises. Christen kissed the top of his head and gave him a squeeze before laying back and falling asleep herself.


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Christen trains and Darron feeds the dogs.

It was Friday, and Christen couldn’t believe how fast the week had gone by. Her and Darron had spent much of the past few days just chilling out. They each lead fairly hectic lives, so the lull in their schedules was very much welcome. She enjoyed just lounging on the couch every night, especially last night with the NWSL Championship on. 

They had just gotten home from training that morning. She still couldn’t believe he wanted to go with her. She had been so excited he was visiting that she didn’t think what he would do for the few hours each day she used to hone her craft. When the issue came up Tuesday, he opted to tag along. She asked him if he was sure, but he seemed set on it.

“What, afraid I’ll show you up in your own dojo?”

He actually proved to be a viable training partner. He did his own thing while she worked various solo drills, and her trainer came up with the idea to bring him into the fold at one point, using the massive and muscular frame as a defender for ball shielding drills. While he didn’t exactly have the technical ability that Becky had, his pure athleticism and mixture of strength and huge build proved to be a good challenge for her.

He even got in the net, and once again, Christen was left to try and place perfect shots in order to beat that massive wingspan and those giant hands. He was far bigger than Hope, or any other keeper she’d ever faced really. The open spots on net looked so much smaller with him filling it up. She was forced to be innovative, and near perfect when going up against him, and felt herself becoming a little better every day.

But now their time was almost over. His flight was Sunday afternoon, and Christen had one the day after. And after that the next time they would likely see each other in person would be around Thanksgiving. Over a month. He was going to miss Victory Tour games and Syd’s wedding. Luckily Jrue wasn’t going to make it either, so her and Cheney decided to be each other’s date to the occasion. 

Darron had already showered and gone back downstairs by the time Christen had finished and got dressed. She made her way down the stairs and heard music coming from the kitchen. She walked in to find Darron cutting chicken and placing it onto a plate. He had his iPhone blasting music and was rapping along. She found the whole scene to be cute, especially how into the fake performance he was getting. 

“Earth to Drake. What are you doing?” He looked up and grinned before lowering the volume.

“Making lunch. Let’s go.” She followed him outside to the patio where he started up the grill. 

Soon they each had a plate of grilled chicken. The dogs seemed to smell what was going on and trotted over, putting their paws on the table to see what the main course was. 

“Mo, Khaleesi, down.” Christen was hungry after their workout and was not in the sharing mood when it came to food right now.

“Hey, what’s that?” Darron pointed beyond her shoulder, but when she turned, it was just the backyard as normal. Confused she turned back around to find Darron giving the dogs a piece of chicken.

“Are you kidding me?”

Darron looked at her then leaned down towards the dogs.

“Remember what I’ve done for you here today. When she comes after me, just remember Darron took care of you.”

Christen raised an eyebrow. “You’re so weird.”


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TMZ re-runs.

That night Christen watched Darron and her sister play with the dogs on the floor while she sat on the couch. She felt her phone buzz and looked at the screen.

 

**Text Message: Kling**

She opened her phone and went to the group chat she was in with Kling, Cheney and Moe. She looked at the text diminutive defender had sent.

 

**Kling: OMG**

 

And attached was a video of Darron’s appearance on TMZ.

 

**Moe: Ugh, that’s gross and adorable at the same time**

**Cheney: How jealous is he that I’m your date to Syd’s wedding?**

**Christen: Settle down everyone… How did you even find that Kling?**

**Kling: Social media, you should try it. The real question is whatttttt??!!**

**Cheney: Jeez Kling you’re gonna give yourself an aneurysm**

**Moe: I actually agree with Kling here, unfortunately. Saying that to TMZ? That’s big. Like next level big**

**Kling: What’s wrong with agreeing with me? Moe we’re gonna have a chat next time we’re together**

The conversation was now spiraling down the all too familiar KlingenMoe path so Christen set her phone back down. She looked at Darron playing tug o’ war with the dogs as her sister got up and plopped next to her on the couch, grabbing the remote on her way. She flipped through the guide before settling on a re-run. Of TMZ. From Monday night. Oh boy.

 

It took all of five minutes for Darron’s segment to be up.

 

“We have Darron Long at LAX, who writes for ESPN and does TV and radio and stuff. And he was dating Christen Press the soccer player.”

 

Christen turned to see her sister staring at her. They then turned their attention to Darron on the floor. He was looking at the TV, looking somewhat confused.

 

“So that’s who that was.” He shrugged.

 

The segment ended and Christens sister excused herself to take the dogs out to go to the bathroom, giving her a look on her way out.

 

“So about that. Why didn’t you tell me you got interviewed by TMZ?”

 

“I didn’t actually realize it was them. I guess I was so tired I didn’t hear them right.”

 

They shared a silence before Darron spoke again.

 

“Are you mad?”

 

Christen looked at her boyfriend and the way he looked at her waiting for a response. She got up and sat down on the floor next to him.

 

“No. In fact I thought that was incredibly adorable.” She smiled at him.

 

“There’s that infectious smile.” He grinned at her. “You know I love you, right?”

 

Christen bit her lip and nodded. “I think you’ve mentioned it once or twice.”

 

They started to inch their head closer and closer until their lips were separated by a thin slice of air.

 

Then Khaleesi, with a newly emptied bladder, came flying through the air and crashed on Darron’s lap, where her rope toy was resting. Playtime apparently was starting again.


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Christen arrives at the Dwyer-Leroux wedding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a super quick update. Getting towards the end of the semester so I've been suuuuuper busy. Didn't intend on this near-month long gap since the last update, but I'm trying to get back to writing as much as I can. #23's trip before Thanksgiving has thrown me off a little to, but I've got some ideas. Hope they work out....

Sunday night rolled around and Christen began packing for her flight the next morning. She was almost done when she picked up a black t-shirt on the floor and held it up, reading the lettering on the front.

 

**HAWAII RAINBOW WARRIORS FOOTBALL**

She pulled out her phone and crafted a text to send to Darron that he had left a shirt at her place and she could mail it or bring it with her next time they got together.

 

And then she thought for a moment. And then she deleted the text. This one was staying with her.

*******

 

Christen slowly opened her eyes and took in the blurry picture of her room, the sunlight coming in through the window. She started to close her eyes to get some more sleep when they snapped open, seemingly involuntarily. She grabbed her phone and looked at the screen. 9:30 AM.

 

“SHIT!” She had a flight at 10 out of LAX to Kansas City for Syd and Dom’s wedding, and had overslept her alarm. By a lot. Luckily she had her bag already packed. But she was cutting it close, so no time to change. She threw a sweatshirt over the t-shirt she had worn to bed, as well as a pair of leggings and her socks and sneakers before running downstairs, grabbing her keys and bag, and hightailing it to the airport. She made it just in time, a relief considering she had missed a flight days before that the nice lady at the check-in counter graciously re-booked for her.

 

Almost three hours later she was in Kansas City, making her way into the hotel. She saw Cheney, Becky and JJ talking in a corner of the lobby and she went over to them. As they exchanged “Hello’s”, Christen went to take off her sweatshirt. Once it was over her head and laid on her bag, she looked up to see the other three giving her an odd look.

 

“What? Is there something on my face?” She began rubbing the edge of her mouth in case there was anything there.

 

“Nope,” Cheney smirked at her. In fact, they were all smiling a little.

 

“Well why are you guys looking at me like that?”

 

“It’s nothing,” JJ started.

 

Becky finished. “Just didn’t know you played football for the University of Hawaii.” She motioned towards Christen’s chest.

 

Picking up the front of the fabric and looking down, she read the lettering:

 

**HAWAII RAINBOW WARRIORS FOOTBALL**


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thanksgiving time...

It was two days before Thanksgiving, and Christen hadn’t seen Darron since the week he spent out in LA, almost a month-and-a-half ago. He ended up not being able to make it back out for Halloween even though the Patriots had played the Thursday before, so they spent it on their separate coasts.

 

Christen was with her friends and did a Dia De Los Muertos style makeup costume. She got a Twitter notification that Darron had tagged her in something, so she opened it.

 

 **@DarronLong:** A Khal without his Khaleesi on Halloween #MissYou @ChristenPress

 

Attached was a picture of Darron dressed as Khal Drogo from Game of Thrones. He went all-out with, wearing the same clothing, eye makeup, blue paint on his exposed chest and had his hair back in a ponytail. She also realized why he had been growing out a beard, as that too was in full effect. Christen was caught in between laughing and being very turned on by the look.

 

Luckily Thanksgiving afforded them the opportunity to get together again. Unfortunately, it had also caused a bit of a fight. Nothing major, but typical relationship stuff. Christen had FaceTime’d Darron a week before she left for her trip to Africa and asked when he was flying in for Thanksgiving. He had sort of exhaled and looked a bit confused.

 

“So this is on me for not mentioning earlier, but I have to spend Thanksgiving at home. Like every year.”

 

Looking back, Christen couldn’t believe she had actually been upset in the slightest, though probably more due to the lack of communication about this fact than anything. She had already told her parents he would be coming, though she did so without actually talking with him.

 

They had ended their conversation on a sour note, presumably ready to spend the day apart, but once her head cooled a little, she called him back.

 

“Hey, I’m sorry. I should have asked you what the deal was before I just told my parents you’d be here.”

 

“And I should have told you the deal way ahead of time. So I’m sorry about that. But I do have to be here, it’s tradition. We can do your family for every other holiday, I promise.”

 

“We’ll play it by ear. Sound good?”

 

“Absolutely. So…are you coming here or staying out there?”

 

Christen thought for a moment before declaring she would indeed travel to the East Coast and spend part of Thanksgiving with the Long’s, and travel home later that day for dinner with her own family.

***

And that’s how Christen found herself grabbing her bag off the carousel at Logan Airport in Boston. She had panned her flights so she would stop in Boston for the holiday while her sister would be making the full trip back to California. She walked out into the late afternoon air, starting to darken as the sun began to set earlier and earlier with each day. She saw Darron sitting on the hood of his car and made her way over. They would be staying one night at his place in Boston before making their way to his parents’ house south of the city the next morning.

 

Christen stepped into his apartment and noted it was pretty modern looking.

 

She set her bag down, continuing to eye the place. “Did you decorate this?”

 

“Nice huh?” he answered from behind the refrigerator door. “And no, this is all my mom and sister’s doing.”

 

They decided to order in and watch TV for the night, Christen tired from her flight, and Darron tired from the Monday Night Football game he covered 24 hours ago.

 

At one point Tobin called him and after he hung up, he turned on his XBOX and gave her the headset.

 

“Tobin and Becky wanna play,” he said.

 

Christen chatted with her nerdy teammates while they played Assassin’s Creed with Darron.

 

Christen found this to be a little funny and at one point she asked how long they had been playing video games with her boyfriend.

 

“Oh, long before you were around Chris.”

 

“Jeez, Becky. You turn into a different person when we play this,” Tobin said.

 

“Well it’s true! Hey, tell him to turn around.”

 

Christen turned to Darron. “Becky says turn around.” She watched as Darron did so, and had his character promptly killed by Becky’s. In one ear she heard the defender laughing her ass off while Darron just kept saying “What the hell Becky!? What was that for!?” over and over.

 

Eventually they all got tired of the gamer and parted ways, with Darron turning the TV back to a Family Guy re-run.

 

“So, what is this tradition that requires you to be here every Thanksgiving?”

 

Seemingly without missing a beat and never taking his eyes off the TV, he answered, “High school football game.” As if it was the most obvious thing ever.

 

“What? There’s high school football on Thanksgiving?”

 

He looked at her a little funny. “Yes. It’s a very New England thing. In Massachusetts pretty much every high school plays on Thanksgiving.”

 

“So you have to go to your old high school’s Thanksgiving football game every year? That’s the big thing?”

 

His expression turned more serious. “I know it seems weird, but that team means the world to me. Everyone says college is the best four years of your life, but I’d give anything to get just one more game playing for my high school. I met my best friends in life because they were my teammates. We went through everything together, and this is the one game a year we can all come back.”

 

Christen hadn’t realized what this all meant to him. She grabbed his hand and intertwined their fingers, looking him in the eye.

 

“It’s not weird. I think that’s awesome. Hopefully you can introduce me to all of them.” She smiled at him, and he nodded while duplicating her grin.

******

That night, Christen awoke in Darron’s bed. There was a storm rolling through the area, and a clap of thunder had brought her out of sleep. She rubbed her eyes before noticing the lack of body behind her. She rolled over and could barely make out Darron’s silhouette.

 

He was on the edge of the bed, head in his hands and bent over, his hair falling down over his back, shoulder and face. Christen sat up a little bit more, starting to grow concerned.

 

“Darron?” She whispered so quietly it was a wonder he heard her. He turned back toward her, brushing his hair back and out of his face with his hand.

“Are you feeling okay?”

 

He took a deep breath before climbing back under the sheets. “Yeah. It’s nothing.”

 

Christen didn’t quite believe him, but it was also 3 AM, so she didn’t question him further, and fell back asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I totally forgot to post stuff I already had written, but since I'm home now for winter break, I can do it a lot more regularly. I have stuff done and am working on more, hang in there!


	22. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas ya filthy animals! In honor of the season... more Thanksgiving!

At 9:30 the next morning Christen was awoken by something hitting her head. She tried to play it off and go back to bed, but then another object hit her. And another. She opened her eyes to find Darron at the foot of the bed brushing his teeth and throwing little Nerf balls at her.

 

Giving him the stink eye she sat up and rubbed her face. “A normal alarm would have sufficed you know.”

 

He held up his phone. “You slept through it Khaleesi. Come on, we gotta get moving soon.”

 

By 10:30 they were putting their things in his pickup truck and heading to his hometown. The whole way there he had his iPhone plugged in and would sing and rap to every song. She also took note of the variety of music he had. Songs would change genre every single time. From the new Justin Bieber album to the Drake and Future mixtape to some Mike Posner EDM remix he had found, he had a very eclectic choice in music.

 

Finally, the highway ended and back roads began. It wasn’t long after that she read the sign: **Entering Ashfield Est. 1649**

“Welcome to Ashfield. Home of yours truly.”

 

It was exactly what Christen pictured when she thought of the stereotypical Massachusetts small town. That mix of new and old. Historical buildings and architecture alongside newer looking structures. Signs that marked various landmarks. It was definitely a lot different than where she had lived before. Sweden, Chicago, even Palos Verdes, none of them were anything like this.

 

Darron turned down a few streets before slowing down as they approached a brick-front house on a hill.

 

“Casa de Long,” he said as he turned and drove up the driveway.

 

They grabbed their bags and made their way to the garage, where Darron punched in a code on the keypad. The door opened to two empty spaces surrounded by various bins and boxes and sports equipment. They made their way to the door, opened it and walked in.

 

Before they could even make it 3 steps in, a loud bark was followed by dog barreling into the room, which Christen noted seemed to be the living room. Jumping up on her was a fairly big husky.

 

“Doggy! Hewoooo sweety!” She got down on her knee and began rubbing behind the dog’s ears. Darron sat down on the ground and the dog went to him and licked his face.

 

“Who’s a good boy? Where’s mommy and daddy? Are they at work?” The dog barked again. “Ohhh of course they are. You’re so smart!”

 

“What’s his name?”

 

Without looking up Darron answered. “Brady.”

 

“No you didn’t. You did not name your dog after a football player.”

 

Darron looked at here with a deadpan stare. “I’m being responsible and honest in this relationship, so yes.”

 

She met his blank stare. “Unbelievable. Just…unbelievable.”

 

“Ok, you’re not one to talk considering one of _your_ dogs is named after a fictitious queen and mother to dragons.”

 

“Fine, we’ll call it even.” He smirked at her before they both got up and took their bags upstairs. They stopped in front of door that was down the hall. Christen was about to get a glimpse at Darron’s past, his childhood room.

 

He turned the doorknob and they stepped in. Immediately she was hit with the brightness of the white walls and the sunlight pouring through the open windows. There was a fairly large bed in the other wise small room. There was a desk and bookcase filled to the max, and a door that she assumed opened to the closet. On one wall there was a dresser and mirror. Maybe the most striking thing, though, was the decorating. The walls were lined with framed jerseys. The green and yellow of what she assumed was his high school, and the ones he wore at Hawai’i with his name on the back. Team USA jerseys, Army All-American jerseys, Under Armour All_American jerseys. There were framed pictures of a younger looking Darron in high school on the field and with teammates and friends and family postgame. Pictures of his days at Hawai’i, both on and off the field, and from his graduation day. She could see the progression of his now majestic mane, though it was still pretty long in his high school days. There was also a shelf that was lined with trophies and plaques. As Darron unpacked a little, she walked over to read them.

**2008 Massachusetts Mr. Football Award**

**2007 Ashfield Rockets Team MVP**

**2008 Ashfield Rockets Team MVP**

**2007 All Tri-Valley League First Team**

**2008 All Tri-Valley League First Team**

**2008 Tri-Valley League MVP**

**2011 John Mackey Award Finalist**

**2012 John Mackey Award Finalist**

**2012 University of Hawai’i Football Offensive MVP**

“Holy shit that’s a lot of hardware,” she thought to herself. She wasn’t even done when he tapped her on the shoulder.

 

“As much as my confidence is being built up right now with you looking at my glory days, I have plans and was wondering if you would like to come with.”

 

“Sure. What are we doing?”

 

“Well, to make a long story short, the next door neighbor is the current starting quarterback and whenever I’m around he wants to throw, even before practice. We’re driving down to the field in like 10 minutes, so if you want to come and do some training, the soccer nets should still be set up.”

 

“Yeah, sure, I just need to change real quick.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've found I've been writing a lot of DL's backstory now, but eventually wanna get back to more CP23 centered stuff. Working on it...


	23. Chapter 23

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Christen accompanies Darron and a friend to the field.

After Christen had changed she made her way outside to find Darron in sweats and a sweatshirt leaning on his truck and talking to another tall man. He noticed her over the other mans shoulder.

 

“Oh, Christen, come over. Let me introduce you two.”

 

The other man turned. He was about the same height as Darron, but she could tell he wasn’t quite as big in frame. He definitely had the look of a quarterback. He had long hair like Darron, but blonder, and the beginnings of a beard. His skin was definitely whiter than Darron’s and he had blue eyes.

 

“Christen, this is Caleb Mason. Caleb, Christen Press.”

 

Caleb stuck his hand out and smiled at her. “Christen, it’s an honor to meet you. I was glued to the TV during the World Cup. Congrats by the way!”

 

She shook his hand and smiled back. “Thank you! It’s nice to meet you to. Darron said you’re the quarterback, right?” He nodded.

 

“Alright,” Darron started. “Let’s get going. What time do you have to be back at the school for practice?”

 

“2:30. So we can go for like an hour.”

 

Christen got in the passenger seat with her water bottle, cleats and a few soccer balls they had brought from Darron’s apartment. He apparently played the occasional pickup match with Alyssa Naeher, Steph McCaffrey and the Mewis sisters and always had some gear lying around.

 

As they approached the high school, she took note of the big building and then the lights that towered over the turf. The field looked like it was in a valley with how much lower it was than the rest of the land around it.

 

“Welcome to Death Valley.” Darron said pulling into a space near the gated entrance.

 

The trio walked out onto the field and Christen put her cleats on while the others did the same. She looked up after she was done. Caleb had on a pair of green and yellow cleats, black leggings, green shorts and a grey t-shirt. His hair wasn’t quite as long as Darron’s, so it was in a half bun with the rest flowing to his shoulders.

 

Then she turned her attention to Darron. He had on white cleats with black mid-calf socks, black shorts and a green cut off Hawai’i Football shirt. His hair was in full bun mode, and he had a head wrap on to keep fly away’s out of his face. He was pulling on receiver gloves as the two made their way to midfield. It looked like he was still in college, which she figured wasn’t too odd since he was only 24, but he looked like he could be playing on Sundays instead of writing.

 

She took her balls to one end zone where the scoreboard was and took note of the “DII State Champions 2008” banner that hung from it. As she went through various drills she would occasionally look up and see Darron running various routes and making catches. She could tell this Caleb kid was the real deal the way he threw, but he would still get coaching tips from Darron after every pass.

 

After about an hour she heard Darron call for one last pass.

 

“Utah tight left, 711, Z Jet, out and up.”

 

“What are they in?”

 

“Base set, Cover 1. So you…”

 

“Motion you to the right, slide protection right, look off the safety and hit you on the out and up.”

 

“Good. Don’t forget to run a check at the line. On Alpha.”

 

Christen listened to this gibberish and watched them take their spots, Caleb with the ball five yards back from the 50 yard line and Darron a yard off the line and in a three-point stance to his left.

 

Caleb started barking out phantom directions.

 

“White 90! White 90 set! Alert! Alert! Rocket!” He tappd his left foot a few inches behind him and Darron got out of his stance and jogged to the right side of the imaginary line. “52’s the Mike! Alpha, GO!”

 

Caleb dropped back and pump faked to the left before turning his body slightly to the right. Darron had broken out into a full sprint down field before cutting to the right and ducking his shoulder again to turn back up field. Caleb unleashed the ball in a tight spiral that Darron went up and caught one-handed 20 yards away. They ran towards each other and chest bumped.

 

Christen had walked back to the sideline to take off her cleats by then and watched in reverence at how easy they made it look. It had been 6 years since Darron last played here, but he still seemingly had everything down pat in his head. It was a little bit awe-inspiring.

 

The other two made their way over and took off their cleats. Darron laid on his back and stretched a little. He tossed Christen his keys and told them to head up and he would be right behind them after he put on his shoes. So herself and Caleb began the walk up to the truck.

 

“Darron wasn’t kidding when he said you were really good.”

 

“Thanks. A lot of credit goes to him though. He’s always working with me and making me better.”

 

“You two seem really close.”

 

Caleb rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m an only child, so he’s like the older brother I never had. We’ve been neighbors for as long as I can remember, and he sorta took me under his wing. If I’m gonna learn it might as well be from the best.”

 

“Was he really that good?”

 

Caleb looked at her a little funny. “Oh absolutely. He’s a legend. There’s a scrapbook at their house his mom put together you should go through.”

 

“Could he have gone pro?” Christen was genuinely curious.

 

“Yeah, but the injury bug caught up to him. He played his entire senior season in high school with a stress fracture in his right shin, which didn’t help, and he had 4 concussions at UH, so he decided against going pro.”

 

“Oh, I didn’t know any of that.”

 

Caleb nodded. “Yeah, and ending another persons career didn’t exactly help either.”

 

“Wait what?” Christen had never heard this before.

 

Caleb again looked at her funny. “You’ve never heard of “The Hit at Hawai’i?” She nodded her head no. “Ohhhh, um, OK…I can’t exactly explain it here since he’s coming back so I’ll say look up ‘Darron Long Hawai’i hit’ later. I’ll just say he took it very hard and its been weighing on him ever since. I probably shouldn’t be telling you this, but he used to have nightmares and stuff about it.”

 

“Maybe that’s what woke him up last night,” she thought out loud.

 

“What? Did he seem spooked?” She nodded her head. “Shit, ok, keep an eye on him. Please. That doesn’t sound good.”

 

She nodded as the man in question approached. The drive home was as normal as the one to the field, but the information dropped on her by Caleb had placed a bit of a cloud over Christen.


	24. Chapter 24

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Christen meets the family.

They returned home, and after saying goodbye to Caleb, made their way inside. Darron’s family had gone to his cousin’s hockey game a few towns over, so the first meeting would have to wait until later.

 

They decided on lunch at a local spot, but each desperately needed a shower. Christen cleaned off first before passing off the bathroom to Darron. She dried off and got ready to go back out. She heard the shower still going, so she decided to do some digging.

 

Pulling out her phone, Christen opened Safari and started typing letters into Google. It took a few seconds, but the results started popping up. Videos, news headlines, links to all different websites. She chose the first YouTube on the page and watched it.

 

Hawai’i was on offense wearing their black and green uniforms. She quickly identified #85 with “Long” on the back down in a stance at the bottom of the screen. The play started and Darron disappeared from the view of the camera. The quarterback threw the ball to a receiver but it was intercepted by a player from Boise State. A mad scramble started after the interception, with players swarming around in all different directions. The ball carrier was running towards the top of the screen when he stopped and turned back. He barely made it one step.

 

From the bottom of the screen appeared a black and green blur. The Darron had come streaking from wherever he was on the field to the center of the action. And he laid a ferocious hit on the opposing player. It was violent, like a car wreck. Christen put a hand to her mouth when she heard the dull thud of the hit. The player in white went down. Hard. Darron followed through before landing himself and getting up to jog back to the sideline. Then he stopped. And then he ran back to the player he had just leveled, who was still down and not moving. Christen watched as Darron started motioning for trainers, and others followed suit in a hurried manner.

 

She watched as the trainers tended to the player, thankfully moving his extremities, though rather cautiously. She watched him loaded onto a backboard, which is then placed in a cart, and whisked off the field.

 

All while #85 in green and black looks on. Sometimes his head is up. Most of the time it’s down. At one point he drops to a knee and takes his helmet off, using it to lean on a bit. The clip ends soon after the cart head down the tunnel.

 

Christen is speechless. She goes back to the main search page and glances over the headlines that were brought up.

 

**Boise’s Taylor Season Ends in Loss to Hawai’i**

**Huge Hit Rocks Hilo**

**Hawai’i’s Hitman: Long To Soldier On**

The bathroom door opened and Christen locked her phone quickly and looked up. Darron was toweling off his hair and looking at her.

 

“You alright? You seem spooked.”

 

Christen was able to find her voice. “Yeah! Yeah, it’s nothing.”

 

After making their way to a local place and eating, they returned home to find three cars parked in the driveway. They made their way back into the house, the familiar barking of Brady welcoming them in as they walked to the kitchen.

 

“Hi mom.” Mrs. Long was a little shorter than Christen with blonde hair and blue eyes. Darron bent down to give her a hug.

 

“Mom, this is Christen. Christen, my mom.”

 

“Mrs. Long, it’s so nice to meet you!”

 

“Oh, call me Brianne honey! Wonderful to finally see you in person! Darron’s said so many good things about you.” She brought the striker into a motherly hug.

 

“Where’s everyone else?” Darron was playing with Brady on the floor.

 

“Somewhere in this house,” Brianne turned toward the hallway. “Ben! Sam! Jake! Darron is home and he brought a friend!” Her voice boomed through the house, and commanded the room in a way that reminded Christen of her own mother.

 

It wasn’t long before three people entered the room. The first two looked just like Darron, albeit younger. An older man came in after them. He had jet-black hair with some gray mixed in, contrasting the brown of the Long children and blonde of Darron’s mom. His dad was tall, but still shorter then Darron, same for his younger brother, while his sister was an inch or two shorter than that.

 

“Christen, this is Ben, Darron’s dad, Samantha, his sister, and Jake, his brother.”

 

They each took turns greeting her and making small talk before Mrs. Long spoke up.

 

“Well, I’m going to finish making dinner. You two already ate, correct?” The pair nodded. “Well, make yourself comfortable Christen. Oh, its about time Darron brought a girl home.”

 

“Alright, alright, that’s enough mom,” Darron groaned. He turned to Christen. “I’m gonna take Brady on a walk, so you can just settle in if you want.”

 

“I’ll come with you.” They put Brady on his leash and headed out into the dark. They started walking down the street in silence, but something started itching at Christen’s brain.

 

“So when was the last time you brought a girl home to the family?”

 

Darron looked at her quizzically. “Why are you asking?”

 

“Well your mom made it sound like it’s been a while.”

 

“Senior year of high school.”

 

That blew Christen away. “You went six years without bringing any of your girlfriends home.”

 

“Well I haven’t had a girlfriend since then, so no.”

 

Christen looked at him. “What? Come on, tell me the truth.”

 

Darron returned the stare. “Why would I lie about that? What, you think I was just dating everyone and sleeping around?” There was a slight hint of annoyance in his voice.

 

“No, well, I mean…no. But come on, you’re good looking. You had to have had a girlfriend or two in six years.”

 

Darron stopped now and turned to her. “Look, I don’t want to talk about it, but let me just say I am being 100% truthful when I say you are my first girlfriend in a long, long time.”

 

His face was stern, his voice serious. Christen didn’t realize this was something that would set him off. They finished the walk in more silence, and a little tension.

 

Things had seemed to calm down when they got home. They watched TV and chatted with the rest of the family. Brianne even showed Christen the scrapbook Caleb had mentioned earlier.

 

“Mom that’s so cliché. Be original one time for me,” Darron had said upon seeing that.

 

Eventually Christen and Darron were the last two and made their way up to his room. They had an early morning, and Christen would be flying out to LA after the game.

 

When they reached the room and turned on the light, there was something waiting on the bed. Christen walked in first and picked up the jacket. It was green with yellow accents, and white leather sleeves.

 

“That’s my letterman jacket. My mom must have put it here.”

 

She read the stitched lettering on the front that spelled out “Long” and “Captain”, as well as “#85”, in script font, and turned it over to see the school name and logo.

 

“You wanna try it on?” Darron had a grin on his face as she nodded and slipped her arms into the jacket.

 

It was huge. It engulfed her, and they couldn’t help but laugh.

 

“Sometimes I forget how massive you are, so this is a nice wakeup call.”

 

“Nah, I think it fits perfectly.”

 

Christen smiled at her boyfriend. “This is so cheesy.”

 

“That’s not always a bad thing.”

 

They got under the covers and turned out the lights. They lay awake for a bit, and she felt him playing loosely with her hair.

 

“I’m sorry about getting angry earlier.” They were both facing the ceiling, so Christen turned so she was on her side and facing him.

 

“You don’t have to apologize, I shouldn’t have been pushing you.”

 

Darron looked at her now. “You were within your rights, it’s fine,” he looked back to the ceiling. “I really liked her. We dated for 3 years. And then she broke up with me out of nowhere. I was devastated.” Christen felt him take a deep breath.

 

“I promised myself after that to never get romantically involved unless I thought it would last. I didn’t want to waste my time and energy on someone or something that wouldn’t be forever.”

 

Christen looked at him again. “So-“ She paused a little unable to think where to go from there. Luckily, her sentence was finished for her.

 

“So there’s a reason this has been happening since July.”

 

He looked at her again, and she locked eyes with him. Christen inched her head towards his until they were millimeters apart.

 

Still looking him dead in the eyes thorugh the darkness of the room, she spoke softly.

 

“Tell me I’m not wasting your time.”

 

“The exact opposite.”

 

She brought her lips to his for a deep kiss.

 ********

The next morning they woke up and got dressed. Darron insisted she wear his jacket “because of the cold”, and she did, even though it was something out of a cheesy romantic comedy she hated.

 

They arrived to the field, and the place was buzzing. Darron was stopped every few feet by people young, old and in between to chat and take pictures. He was a local celebrity.

 

They walked down onto the field and into the end zone where other men were wearing the same jacket she had on. Darron introduced to her various teammtes, and soon after the teams were taking the field for introductions.

 

The Rockets made their way down a path from the locker room and onto the field in a two-by-two line, parting the crowd on their way down. Christen recognized Caleb at the front.

 

The players jogged toward where they were standing and Christen felt Darron move from her side. She watched him take a spot in the middle of the end zone and the team circled around him.

 

She watched him give a pump up speech and lead them in the words he had in ink on his ribs. She noticed that fire in his eyes again.

 

The Rockets won in convincing fashion, 38-7, and Caleb was named the game’s MVP. After talking with player son the field afterwards, the two made their way to the car. Christen was flying back to LA in a few hours, and Darron would be dropping her off.

 *********

Back at home and eating with her family, she was happy, but longed for her boyfriend. It had been a whirlwind week.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally finished up the Thanksgiving timeline, which took me way longer than I thought it would. To be honest finishing it started to feel like a chore and I just wanted to get it done and move on.


	25. Chapter 25

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time to ball out. Also, Christmas.

It was December 10th. Gameday. The Victory Tour was continuing after the debacle in Hawaii. Christen had been excited to go there for the tour, partially because it was Darron’s alma mater. They tried to stay optimistic with the field conditions leading up to the game, and went on a private tour of the school since they were on the training fields there. But even when texting Darron about what was happening, he had an idea of the situation. He told her even when he was playing there, players would complain about the quality of the turf.

 

**D: I thought it would get better, or even stay the same. Cannot believe it got worse though**

Christen was obviously disappointed, not just because they weren’t playing, but because they all felt they were letting fans down. She especially wanted Darron to see her playing on the field he had roamed for four years. The day before the game she and JJ had even received pictures from Darron and Zach at the Eagles practice that day. The Eagles were playing the Patriots the same day of the game in Hawaii.

 

The Chicago teammates thought it was the cutest thing ever.

 

But now they were in San Antonio, ready to play Trinidad & Tobago. Christen was a little nervous. It had been almost a month since she had played. She was at her sisters wedding during the game in Birmingham, Alabama, and hadn’t featured in the two games with Brazil.

 

Of course she trained her ass off like normal, but doing workouts at TOCA can only go so far. She needed minutes in game situations. Her anxiety appeared to show as she texted Darron on the bus ride to the stadium.

 

**C: Even if I do play I have to do good**

**D: Stop worrying. You’ll play and you’ll kick ass**

**C: You talk like you’re a psychic**

**D: Maybe I am. When’s the last time you’ll check your phone before kickoff?**

**C: I don’t know, like 630 your time?**

She didn’t get a response after that, and went about her pregame as normal. 30 minutes before kickoff she made her way back into the locker room with the rest of the team. As she sat down at her stall her phone went off. She looked at the text message she had just received.

 

**D: Time To Ball Out**

Christen smiled at her phone. That message was somewhat relaxing and gave her confidence. She couldn’t explain why, but it did.

And boy did she ever ball out. Coming on as a second half sub, she tallied a hat trick. It was almost a blur. She was still feeling the adrenaline as the team headed back into the locker room. When she sat down at her stall and took off her cleats, there was a new text message waiting for her.

 

**I’m taking 50% credit for that**

She did it again three day later against China. Not a hat trick, but instant impact nonetheless. Another late-game sub, another beauty of a goal. Another constant was the new addition to her pregame routine. 30 minutes before kickoff.

 

**Time To Ball Out**

 

Four days after that Christen was waking up in a hotel room in New Orleans. The night before she had come on as a sub for Abby Wambach, playing in her last game. It was a bit surreal, waiting there next to the fourth official and seeing the red 20 and green 23 on the board, knowing the magnitude of the situation. She remembered watching Abby bend down and take her cleats off. The team out on the field smothering her in hugs. Hugging Abby as she came to the sideline and congratulating her. And then Abby telling her to “go fucking score”.

 

And she wanted to so badly. She wanted to score every time she was on the field, but there was extra weight on this one. She wanted to score for Abby, and at least give her a tie in her final match. Unfortunately it wasn’t in the cards and the teams home undefeated streak came to an end.

 

A few hours and multiple drinks on Bourbon Street later, it didn’t seem to matter to any of the players.

Christen had a flight later in the day back to LA where she would be for an extended amount of time, seeing as the next camp would be there as well. But first she went to return the jacket she had borrowed form Tobin last night. The forward seemed to forget it can still get cold in the South at night, but luckily the winger had let her borrow the leather jacket she had worn out.

 

Christen grabbed the jacket and walked down the hall to the room Tobin was sharing with Alex. She knocked lightly on the door and heard some shuffling inside before the door opened to reveal the person she needed.

 

“Hey Chris, what’s up?”

 

“Returning your jacket. Thanks again for letting me borrow it last night Tobs.”

 

The midfielder took the jacket and smiled. “No problem. You know, for a Stanford grad you can forget to think sometimes.”

 

Christen let out a mock gasp before laughing. “Barnie and Buehler would kill me and Kel if they knew we were giving their education a bad name.”

 

“Luckily for you guys they aren’t here.”

 

“Lucky is an understatement. Well I have to finish packing for my flight, so I guess I’ll talk to you later.”

 

“I actually think I may be on that flight to LAX.”

 

Christen looked at Tobin with a funny smile. “Really?”

 

“Yeah, I have a connecting flight back to Hawaii to see a friend for a few days before I meet up with the family at my brothers place for Christmas.”

 

“Didin’t get enough Hawaii huh?” Tobin smirked and shook her head. “Well let me know when you’re ready to go. We can take a cab over there together.”

 

Two hours later they were sitting in their terminal after going through security and taking pictures with a few fans. Ali was there to since her flight was leaving around the same time. But now it was just Christen and Tobin.

 

“So any plans for the holidays?” Tobin asked.

 

“Just hanging out with the family and training and Buzzer stuff. The usual.”

 

“When’s Darron heading in?” Tobin knew something was off when she asked this. She noticed Press’ eyes sort of look down and it seemed like the air was taken out of her.

 

“Oh, he, um… He can’t make it. There’s a game on my birthday he has to cover.”

 

“Oh, I, uh…didn’t know.” Tobin was thrown off by this. But then an idea popped into her head. “I’ll fly in day of your birthday.”

 

Christen turned to her with a surprised look on her face. “What?”

 

“Yeah, we can do something fun. We can train together to. I’ve been dying to get back to TOCA. Hell, if you don’t mind me sleeping on the couch I’ll stay til we go to camp.”

 

Christen was taken aback by this sudden outpouring. She had always been friendly with Tobin, but lately they were spending a lot more time together.

 

“Yeah, absolutely. Thanks Tobs, you’re the best.”

 

“I know right?” She was smiling along with her friend but made a mental note to text a certain someone as soon as she could. Tobin Heath had a plan in the works.

 *************

Christen felt sunlight trying to force its way past her shut eyelids. She opened them and felt the rush of the California morning hit. She turned over and looked over to her alarm clock. 9 AM on Christmas Day. She was at a holiday party with her friends and family the night before and was feeling good. She was looking forward to Tobin coming in later in the week to, though she still wished Darron could be with her as well. He’d been quiet on social unless it involved the Patriots for a few days, except for one tweet she found a little odd. It came while she was at the party, and frankly wouldn’t have known until later if her phone wasn’t blowing up out of nowhere with notifications.

 

**@DarronLong: No matter what you say or what you do, when I’m alone I’d rather be with you. I’ll be right by your side til 3005 #MissinYou**

She wasn’t even tagged in it, but everyone else made sure she saw it. She also recognized it as lyrics to a Childish Gambino song. It was a little strange, she thought, but put it aside to focus back in on the party.

 

She rolled out of bed and headed downstairs where the rest of the family was. They all had matching PJs on, as was tradition, and began opening presents. It was 10 AM when she got a text from Tobin.

 

**Tobs: I have a surprise for you later. It’s either a Christmas or early birthday present. Let me know if you like it :D**

Christen had no idea what that was supposed to mean, and Tobin refused to answer her replies. 30 minutes later Christen got her answer.

 

There was a knock on the door. Christen got up to answer it. Her mouth dropped open when she did.

 

“Look at you all cute in your PJs.”

 

It took her a moment, but she finally let out an excited scream before jumping into the arms of Darron Long.

 

“How-what-why-how are you here?!?”

 

Darron kissed the top of her head. “Well there’s these new inventions called planes, right? So I took one to LA and then got a cab to drive me here. It’s awesome, you should try it sometime.”

 

She smiled up at him. “Very funny, don’t make me send you back.”

 

“You wouldn’t dare.”

 

“You’re right.”

 

She lead him into the house where her family was waiting.

 

“She was surprised if you couldn’t tell.”

 

Christen looked between her family and boyfriend. “Wait, you guys knew?!”

 

“Tobin texted us.” Her older sister shrugged.

 

“Tobin…” She looked at Darron, who nodded.

 

**_Flashback-December 17_ **

**Tobin: Dude are you kidding me**

**Darron: What?**

**Tobin: Don’t act like you don’t know D. Christen’s birthday is in 10 days and you’re not gonna be there? Lame**

**Darron: I have to work. Trust me I’d rather be with her but my hands are tied**

**Tobin: If you really believed that you’d find a way. I’ll be there. If you find your balls you know who to text.**

**Darron: What do you want me to do Tobin?**

**Darron: Tobin**

**Darron: Tobin? Helloooooo???**

*************

**Darron: Hey Chan, I need you’re help. Long story short, I’m flying in the 24th. Showing up at your house Xmas morning to surprise Christen. Let everyone else know if you want, just not her.**

**Channing: Really? I thought you were working?**

**Darron: Oh I will be. It took some kicking and screaming. Can you help though?**

**Channing: Absolutley! She’ll be so surprised!!**

***************

**Darron: See you in Palos Verdes Toby**

**Tobin: I knew you’d come around D. Also stop calling me that**

**************

 

Christen whipped out her phone and crafted a text to her nomadic friend.

 

**You really are the best Tobs. Can’t wait to see you in a few days.**

**Tobs: Same! Glad you liked it ;) We can always return it though, I have the receipt XP**

 

**You know, I was wondering why you told me not to mail him his presents, glad I listened!**

With that she went under the tree and grabbed the two gifts for Darron. She had thought Tobin meant not to send them until she got there, or until Darron could open them in person, but she didn’t know that day was today.

 

She handed him the gifts, and he handed his own out to all the members of the Press family.

 

Chew toys for the dogs, a brand new pair of Ray Bans for each of her sisters, a signed Kobe Bryant jersey and a snapback for her brother-in-law, a pair of shoes she had suggested for her mom, and a box of cigars for her dad.

 

Christen opened her gift and pulled a new bag out of the box. When she opened it, there was a piece of paper inside. She unfolded it and read: _More to come. 12.29.2015_

 

She looked up from the ominous note to Darron who gave her a silent wink before turning to the gifts in front of him. The first one he opened ended up being two separate things. Two #23 Christen Press jerseys. One the USA away blue, the other the blue and white stripes of the Chicago Red Stars.

 

“The only non-Boston thing I’ll wear,” he said. He turned his attention to the last box and opened it. Christen kept her eyes intently on him, and ended up with the reaction she wanted.

 

“Noooo wayyyyy,” he was stunned at first, and looked at her. “How did you pull this off?”

 

Christen smiled smugly. “Your girl has a few connections at Nike.” She watched as he pulled the sneakers out of the box to admire them. She had pulled a few strings with Nike connects to secure a pair of the red and white Jordan IV “Alternate 89” kicks that weren’t being released until January 2nd. She knew he had a thing for sneakers, and figured it would be a perfect gift. Boy was she right.

 

They lounged around for the rest of the day, watching NBA basketball and playing with the dogs. After they ate dinner the entire clan moved outdoors to the patio. They sat around talking, and the three guys lit cigars from the box Darron had gotten her dad. Christen and her older sister even took a few turns with their respective partners stogies, though she knew Dawn would absolutely kill her if she saw what was happening. It was a weird site to see.

 

Christen looked at Darron; his hair in a messy bun and loose hairs escaping, the USA Press jersey on and new Jordans on his feet, smoking a cigar. She had to take a picture.

 

“I’m gonna do a real artsy one,” she said making her way behind him. With the sunset in front of them she snapped a good picture and showed him.

 

“That may be Twitter avatar worthy.” He said in approval.

 

She snuggled up next to him and they watched the sun dip lower and lower until it was dark. And they sat there. Long after darkness had set. Long after the cigars were finished. Long after the others had left. They sat there.

 

 


	26. Chapter 26

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 12/29/2016

Christen woke up to the familiar feeling of fingers playing with her hair and smiled against his chest.

 

“Happy birthday grandma.”

 

Christen’s eyes shot open and she whipped her head to lock eyes with Darron.

 

“You’re so funny. I’ve got some tread left on the tires pal,” she pouted. “This is no way to wake someone up on their birthday.”

 

“Did I hurt your feelings?” he asked in a mocking tone. Christen gave him an exaggerated head nod. He leaned down and kissed her. “Better?”

 

Christen looked at him before shrugging. “Eh.” With that she jumped out of bed and moved to the bathroom, calls of “Wait, what? What does that mean?” following her.

 

Once she had showered and dressed, Darron watching her from the bed with eyes glazed over, she looked at the clock. 930 AM. Ugh, why was she up so early on her birthday?

 

“I’m gonna shower real quick."

 

“Alright I’m heading downstairs.”

 

She worked her way down the stairs to the kitchen where her mom was making breakfast. The rest of the family was seated at the table as well, and everyone greeted her with a loud “Happy Birthday!” After a few minutes she realized her phone was still in her room and retreated to get it. She wanted to text Tobin and see when she would be getting in.

 

She walked into the room as the door to the bathroom opened. Darron stepped out in basketball shorts and he was toweling off his hair. When he looked up and saw her, he suddenly slung the towel over his left shoulder. But not before Christen saw something.

 

“What’s on your chest? Is that a bruise?”

 

“What? Oh, yeah. I, uh, got hit. By a…baseball?”

 

Christen moved toward him and tried to move the towel, but he take a tep back and held the towel even tighter over himself.

 

“Darron I wanna see.”

 

“Nah, it’s cool.”

 

“I’ll trap you in here so you can’t see the game.” He sighed and slunk his head down. She knew that would work.

 

Darron ran a hand thorugh his damp hair and took the towel from his body. Christen realized it wasn’t a bruise, but a tattoo on his chest. She read the script lettering: **CAP**

 

She was a bit puzzled. “You got Christie Rampone’s nickname tattooed on your body?”

 

“You tell me Christen Annemarie Press.”

 

It slowly started to dawn on her. She looked at her initials tattooed in ink on his chest. Above his heart. Her eyes slowly made there way up to his looking down at her.

 

“You’re other presents wait til tonight.” He grinned. She reciprocated the gesture.

 

“Deal.” And then she kissed him.

***********

They got home from training around 1 PM and each showered again before reconvening in the kitchen.

 

“What time are we leaving?”

 

“3:30.” Tobin’s flight was landing at 4 pm, and they were picking her up from LAX.

 

“You wanna go get something to eat? My treat birthday girl.”

 

They peeled themselves off the couch and walked to the car. After their meal they made the trip to the airport. At just about 4:15 Tobin texted them she was waiting for her bag, and soon after she was walking outside. Darron and Christen got out of the car and each gave her a hug before they all got back in the car.

 

“So what’s the plan for the rest of the day dudes?”

 

“Dinner at 8:30. Other than that it’s open,” Darron said from his spot on the passenger seat.

 

Christen plugged the AUX cord into her phone and tapped a few times on the screen.

 

When the first note hit, Darron groaned. She turned to him. “Hello. It’s me…”

 

“Oh my god, not again.”

 

Tobin looked between the two of them. “Uhh, what’s happening?”

 

Darron turned to look at her. “Remember that Instagram video from a few days ago? She’s been doing that non-stop the entire day. She’s had this on repeat for three days.”

 

“Hello. Can you hear me?” She continued.

 

“Please, at least put on a remix or something.” The last part of his plea was nearly drowned out by the striker.

 

“HELLLOOOOO FROM THE OTHER SIIIIIIII-IIIIIIIIDE!”

 

“You’re so lucky it’s your birthday,” Darron deadpanned. Tobin looked between her two friends and laughed.

 

Upon arrival back to Palos Verdes, Tobin raided the Press family fridge. After she had filled her stomach, the trio took the dogs down to the beach to play. As the sun started to set, Christen sat down between Darron’s legs with Khaleesi in her arms. Tobin was about 30 feet away with a soccer ball, trying to nutmeg Morena.

 

As Christen watched the sunset, she heard an iPhone camera go off behind her. She turned to see Darron looking at his phone and then begin typing.

 

“What are you doing?”

 

“Nothing,” he said, never taking his eyes off the screen. Nothing turned out to be something when her own phone went off. She’d been tagged in a post on Instagram.

 

She opened the app to find a picture of herself holding Khaleesi and looking off at the setting sun. You couldn’t see her face, but it was definitely Christen Press in that photo. She read the caption.

 

“One of the greatest gifts the universe was ever given. You deserve it all and more. Hau‘oli lā Hānau @christenpress. Aloha au ia ‘oe, kau ā kau”

 

She read the message over and over before she heard a voice in her ear.

 

“Hau‘oli lā Hānau. Aloha au ia ‘oe, kau ā kau. Happy birthday. I love you, forever and always.”

 

She felt lips being pressed to her temple. That wouldn’t do. She turned her head and put a hand behind his neck before putting her lips to his. When they finally pulled away to breathe they locked eyes.

 

“Uhh, guys, I don’t mean to ruin this very sweet moment, but we should probably head back so we don’t miss dinner.” They looked up to see Tobin standing there, rubbing the back of her neck and grinning while Morena stood at her feet.

**************

 

They had reservations for one of Christen’s favorite restaurants in Manhattan Beach. It was the beach trio with Christen’s mom, dad, two sisters, brother-in-law and a few friends. Since her birthday fell two days after Christmas, she normally got presents on the 25th and then dinner with her family and friends on her actual birthday. But that didn’t stop Tobin and Darron from bringing presents anyway.

 

Her teammate gave her a framed picture of the two of them and Lauren on Bourbon Street after Abby’s last game. She’d always been friends with the recent retiree, so seeing her again in New Orleans made that night all the more special.

 

Darron then handed her two small boxes. She opened the first one and pulled out a bracelet with various charms on it; two dog bones, a soccer ball, the sun among them. She slipped it on her wrist and admired it before turning to the next box. She opened it to find a gold necklace with a heart hanging on it. Something caught her when she picked it up and turned it to put it on. It was engraved on the back. She brought it closer to her eyes to read it.

 

**_Time To Ball Out_ **

 

She looked up at Darron, who smiled.

 

“I’ll always text you before games, but in case you ever forget…”

 

After dinner they moved to a bar nearby. By midnight the oldest members of the Press pack had returned home. Just before 1:30 AM the rest of the group decided to call it quits. Christen said her goodbyes with her friends and older sister. Tobin had gotten an Uber for them three plus Christen’s younger sister. Once home they all crashed, with Tobin making her way to the guest room.

 

Darron and Christen changed into something more comfortable before getting into bed. After turning out the lights, she turned to him.

 

“Thank you. For everything.”

 

“You don’t have to thank me.” He started playing with her hair.

 

“I really do though. Surprising me on Christmas, today, the bracelet, the necklace, everything. It’s been amazing. I’m already dreading you having to leave in a few days.”

 

“We’ll make the most of it. I promise.” He kissed the top of her head.

 

Christen had almost fallen asleep when she heard Darron speak softly once more.

 

“Maybe you’ll get a ring to add to that jewelry.”

 

It was almost as if he wanted to keep her up all night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was going to post this and then write and post the next update right after because I was feeling ambitious. I got drunk instead. My bad.


	27. Chapter 27

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Late night talks.

It happened again. Two nights before New Year’s Eve. Or really the early morning of December 30th. It was about 1:30 in the morning when Christen woke up. There was a sudden jolt in bed next to her that caused her eyes to whip open. She immediately sat up and look over to find Darron sitting up as well. Even in the dark she could see his hands clutching the blanket in a vice grip. He was breathing heavy and rapidly. She reached out to touch his shoulder in an attempt to calm him down, but as soon as her fingers made contact with his skin he jerked his body away from her touch, seemingly in fear.

 

“Darron? Darron its OK, its me.” She put her hand on his shoulder again, and this time he seemed to relax a little.

 

“What’s the matter?”

 

He exhaled heavily and rubbed his face. “Nothing. I just… need some air. You can go back to bed.” Before Christen could protest he had swung his legs over the edge of the bed and started out of the room, but not before bending down and grabbing something out of his bag.

 

Christen watched him leave the bedroom and sat there staring at the slightly ajar door before deciding enough was enough. She got out of the bed and made her way downstairs. She quietly made her way through the living room to the porch doors. She could see Darron sitting at the table outside with his back to her. She slid open the door and closed it again when she was outside.

 

Darron turned to the noise and looked a bit surprised. “You didn’t have to come out here.”

 

“I really did.” She pulled out the chair next to him and sat down. When she turned to face him, she was greeted by an interesting sight.

 

“Are you rolling a joint on my porch?”

 

Darron continued without looking up. “Yep.”

 

“And why would you be doing that?”

 

“Relaxes me. Calms me down.”

 

“Which brings me to my main point. I know why you’ve been waking up like that. I’ve seen the video, the stories, the headlines. I know about the nightmares.”

 

“Yeah? Who told you? My mom?”

 

“Caleb.”

 

“Oooo, the dark horse.”

 

“Darron this isn’t funny.”

 

He gave a harsh laugh. “Yeah, well what am I supposed to do, huh?”

 

“See someone. Get help.”

 

He put the joint in his mouth and sparked his lighter. As he lit it, she watched the flames illuminate his face and dance in his eyes.

 

“I’ve taken all the tests there are. There’s no sign of brain damage. I’m healthy. I reconciled with him multiple times. This shouldn’t be happening. But it is and I feel helpless.”

 

“You’re stressed and that isn’t helping.”

 

“That,” he took a long drag before exhaling a cloud of smoke. “Is what this is for.”

 

“Well there has to be something else you can do. You can…” She thought for a moment before an idea came to her. “Start meditating. Yeah! Vedic meditation. It’s perfect for you. Why did I not think of that sooner? My sister is literally an instructor, you can take the course right here in like two days.”

 

He looked like he was thinking before starting to nod. “That’s not a bad idea. I’ll talk to her later.”

 

They sat in silence for a few minutes while Darron puffed away.

 

“Do you wanna talk about it? Or anything else?”

 

He took another puff. “Nope.”

 

They were silent for a little as Darron kept smoking. As he reached the end, he held the joint out.

 

“You want a hit?”

 

“Do you know me at all? No.” Christen wasn’t sure if he could make out her raised eyebrow.

 

“One of these days babe.”

 

He finished up and stood. Christen followed suit, and they interlocked their fingers before heading back to her room.


	28. Chapter 28

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> New Year's Eve.

Tobin felt herself involuntarily waking up from her pleasant nap on the couch. She thought she heard her name being called from a distance, but figured it was part of her dream about surfing with a dog, so she started will herself back to sleep.

 

“TOBIN!” Her eyes snapped open.

 

“I’m gonna leave without you if you don’t get your butt up.” Tobin blinked and started to rub her eyes. What was going on?

 

“I’m going to get in the car and wait exactly 90 seconds. I’m leaving after that whether you are there or not.”

 

Now it started to hit her. She was supposed to be going to TOCA to train with Christen at noon. But it was only… 11:45. And it took 15 minutes to get there. Uh oh. She heard a door open and close; Christen meant business.

 

She sprang off the couch and looked down at herself. T-shirt. Jeans. No shoes. Yikes. She’d have to change on the way or at the facility. Where was her bag though?

 

“DARRON!!”

 

“What?!”

 

“Throw some shorts and a shirt in my bag and toss it down! ASAP!” She heard some shuffling from upstairs before Darron appeared at the top of the stairs and threw her gym bag down. She caught it and spun on a dime, sprinting out the door, leaving it open for her assistant to close. She ran to the passenger side of the car and hopped in. Christen looked at her and then to the watch on her wrist.

 

“Hmm. With 5 seconds to spare.” With that she pulled out.

 

They parked at TOCA and made their way inside. Christen went to netted turf while Tobin went to the bathroom. She took off her shirt and jeans, setting them aside before unzipping the gym bag and pulling out her athletic wear. She semi-groaned when she pulled the items out.

 

There was a black t-shirt, and white socks, and her white turf shoes. And a white pair of #23 shorts.

 

“Are you kidding Darron?” she muttered under her breath, even though she was all alone. But it was all she had to wear, so she got dressed and went outside, trying to hold the bag in front of her, trying to minimize the amount of time Christen would see her in the shorts.

 

It didn’t last long.

 

“You almost make me late, and then you steal my shorts? What a horrible guest you’re turning into.” Christen gave her a sly smirk.

 

“Yeah, yeah. I told Darron to throw some stuff in my bag and this is what he gave me.”

 

“Likely story.”

 

They went through their drills, and took pictures with a few fans that were there, and then were back in the car on the way home.

 

Walking through the door they heard music playing from the kitchen, meaning Darron was cooking lunch. They walked in, tossing their bags on the floor.

 

“Thanks, for the shorts D.” Tobin motioned to the number printed in black.

 

He shrugged. “I don’t know. They were face down, I just thought they were white shorts.”

 

They ate their food outside, Darron and Tobin sneaking scraps to the dogs, even though they were far too obvious with it.

 

“What’s the deal for tonight?” Darron asked. It was New Year’s Eve, Chrosten had almost forgotten.

 

“Probably start at a bar with my sisters and then move to house party? Unless you guys have objections or suggestions.”

 

“I’m down.” Tobin nodded.

 

“Sounds good to me. What time we starting?”

 

“Let’s try and be out by like, 8:30?”

 

They all nodded in agreement.

 

Tobin and Christen showered and the trio hung around the living room for the rest of the day. At about 6:30 Darron went from slouched on the couch with Christen laying on him to snapping upright, nearly tossing the striker onto the floor.

 

“NO WAY!”

Tobin looked at him quizzically. “What?”

 

“Kanye just dropped a new track!”

 

Christen rolled her eyes. “So you just gave me sever whiplash over a Kanye West song.”

 

“I wouldn’t expect you to understand. I need to listen to this.” He got up and vacated the room, causing Christen to roll her eyes again. He was back minutes later.

 

“You guys might not like this since its basically a Nike diss track.”

 

“Did you forget I own a pair of Yeezy’s?” Christen raised an eyebrow.

 

“I did. How the hell are you able to do that again?”

 

“No questions.”

 

“Whatever. I need to see if Crystal has heard this yet.” He typed away on his phone and fired off a text, soon engaging Tobin’s fellow UNC alumna in conversation.

 

“I don’t know if I can go out, I may have to just stay in and listen to this song the rest of the night.” Christen gave Darron what seemed to be her millionth look of the day.

 

“No.” She laid it out bluntly for him.

 

“Don’t blame me, blame Yeezus.”

 

In the end, the guest lost out to the host and they all soon started getting ready.

 

Tobin and Darron finished first, reconvening in the living room. Tobin had her signature black jeans, t-shirt and black leather vest look going. Darron went with blue jeans, a white long sleeve shirt and his own black vest, fleece as opposed to Tobin’s leather. They were scrolling on their phones when Christen appeared in the room.

 

The two looked up at her, and she watched Darron’s jaw in particular drop.

 

She had put on a tight skirt and a shirt that cut off near her stomach. She was definitely feeling confident, and her boyfriends reaction gave her an extra boost. She watched him get up off the couch and make his way over to her.

 

He placed his hands lightly on her hips and looked down to lock eyes with her.

 

“You know,” he whispered. “I was kidding when I said Kanye West would keep me in tonight, but you look so good right now we may actually have to stay in and lock the door.”

 

Chirsten bit her lip. “That sounds appealing, but we need to show each other off.”

 

“Uhh, guys, I’m still here.”

 

“Nobody kills a mood quite like Toby.”

 

“Oh shut up D.”

 

They made their way outside after they called an Uber to take them to a bar to meet the other Press sisters.

 

They had started to get a buzz on when Chirsten went to go use the bathroom. When she exited and the bar came into view she noticed something. Tobin and her sisters were on the dance floor while Darron was still seated at the bar, chatting up the bartender while he worked. Somehow, while looking back to the dancing trio something caught her eye. She saw a group of girls who looked anywhere from 21 to 25-ish. They were muttering to each other and laughing while sneaking glances towards the bar. Towards Darron. She saw some of the girls giving one, a blonde, a little nudge. Chrtisen, already on her way back, quickened her pace. She reached the bar before the blonde girl had even made it half way there. Darron was already facing her direction in his chat with the bartender, so Chirsten cupped a hand behind his neck and brought him into a deep kiss. But not before giving a quick look to the blonde girl and her table just behind her.

 

When they finally separated to get their breath, she looked back to the table. They all had a look of shock on their faces. Christen smirked internally before turning back to the bar, Darron still looking at her half in shock himself, and half with glazed over look to his eyes. Christen loved when she elicited that reaction from him. It was pure infatuation.

 

It was about 10 PM when the group got another Uber to take them to a friend’s house where a party was under way. This was far more their scene. Before they knew it, it was 11:59. Darron grabbed Christen’s hand and led her to the back of the living room they were all crammed into to watch the west coast countdown.

 

He held her hand as they listened to the countdown start around them.

 

“10! 9!”

 

He turned towards her and she reciprocated the action.

 

“8! 7!”

He put her chin between his right index finger and thumb, and brought their foreheads together.

 

“6! 5! 4!”

 

“Aloha au ia ‘oe, kau ā kau.” She head memorized that phrase after her birthday.

 

_I love you, forever and always._

“3! 2! 1! Happy New Year!”

 

The yells and noises from the rest of the partygoers were drowned out by Darron crashing his lips to hers, and Christen matching his intensity.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 2 chapters on the same day? I'm on a roll. Another unintentional absence. Been busy with school stuffs. I go on break end of next week so maybe a lot of updates? I want to get up to speed. Cross your fingers (or don't, your choice to make.)


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